


Summit of the Heart

by WinryDontShoot



Series: Facets of My Reflection: Celeste Stories [5]
Category: Celeste (Video Game)
Genre: Badeline is really a good friend, Badeline is really bashful in this fic, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Indecision, Madeline is doing better but still scared about the future, Romantic Comedy, Telepathy, and Madeline is really self-assured, and a universe where Badeline is called Baddy as a logical extension of Madeline's nickname, and also a universe where Madeline got all the strawberries, cool and good Badeline shenanigans, dream powers? MORE powers? who knows, friendly conflict, friendly rivalry maybe?, in-character pop culture ramblings, obvious romantic tension, relationship fears, so slightly different personalities but because of character development from being a stable fusion, this is a universe where Madeline spoiled Theo on Harry Potter, time to upgrade the minor characters, vengeful ex, we climbing back up celeste mountain, when you get to converse with your demon doppelganger again but she's cool now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2020-08-10 23:30:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20143783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinryDontShoot/pseuds/WinryDontShoot
Summary: Madeline and Theo have been videocalling for eight months. Now Theo has traveled back to Canada to reach the summit of Celeste Mountain for real. Maddie is ecstatic to be his guide, and plans to confess her feelings to him... however, a familiar (well-meaning) face shows up to stop her. Madeline X Theo romcom featuring extensive (friendly) conflict between Madeline and Badeline.





	1. I Dreamt We Spoke Again

**Author's Note:**

> AKA "so is nobody else gonna write the Theoline romcom or do I have to do it?"  
JK it's fun working on this so far. I hope to not take it too seriously and just see where it goes when I feel like writing more :3 
> 
> I think there's plenty of context given in the intro to this, but I'd like to make clear that this takes place before Chapter 8, and by extension, Chapter 9. The Core adds some really subtle, significant stuff to Maddie's character, but I decided it concluded her arc too definitively for this fic. So to leave space open for Maddie development, this takes place only eight months after Chapter 7, rather than a full year!

Maddy sinks into her sleeping bag with a contented sigh. Theo is across the campfire from her, and his back is turned to her; she wonders whether he's asleep, until she hears it: a gentle snore.

Maddy's heart skips. It could make it hard for her to sleep. Maybe. But that sound... that happy, soft sound...

_We haven't even gotten anywhere yet and I'm just so happy to be here._

These past eight months have been a delight. Granted, some days have been hard -- real hard. The days that her perfectionism and anxiety came knocking, and she said, for once in her life, "come on in--" -- those feelings hit her hard. Sometimes she sobs on the couch. Sometimes, she panics, to be around people she loves -- people who have apologized, who she's already forgiven, she swears, but there's still that voice--

_"THEY HURT YOU! DO YOU WANT US TO GET HURT AGAIN?!"_

Badeline. Maddy thought she wouldn't be able to talk to Badeline again. But now that she has decided to "listen" to her -- well, she still hears her, loud and clear. Disgust. Panic. Rage. Keeping her out of danger, keeping her from being socially poisoned, keeping her from doing things that could ostracize her -- since she's done trying to stifle that impulse, the impulse has made itself a voice, and Maddy knows it sounds like Badeline.

But Madeline knows... she's not really so bad.

Breathing. She takes so very many deep breaths. She lets herself _feel_ \-- she lets herself hurt -- no more holding it in, not if she wants to get better -- she hurts, but she's not hurting herself.

Slowly, steadily... things get warmer. "Badeline" becomes a feeling. "Hey, we shouldn't do this," or "we shouldn't do this thing, because it reminds us of something bad that happened," or "we need to dwell on THIS to make sure nothing that embarrassing ever happens to us ever again." A gentle, cautious, suggesting voice. Madeline listens -- she never disappears, she's always there -- sometimes there's a moment of tension, as though afraid she won't be heard -- but as Madeline stays attentive, Badeline grows quieter and quieter. No more negative emotions that overwhelm her, after a week of suppressing them. No more abusing herself, saying she flat-out shouldn't feel a certain way -- and Badeline no longer needs to retaliate, violently and painfully, to make herself heard.

Badeline disappears. Maddy panics at first. Did -- did she outgrow her? Doesn't she need her? She couldn't have climbed the mountain without all of herself. Is she weaker now? Is she less of a person?

But Maddy realizes that now she listens to her full intuition. All her mindfulness from day to day, and the focus she channels into her archery, and the calm she seeks between notes in her busy schedule -- it has all paid off. All of her is there, flowing in her veins. Badeline is there, watching her, always. Madeline has taken on _her_ traits, just as Badeline did Madeline’s on their journey together to the summit -- when she learned to be encouraging, and kind to Maddy, and just as determined as she was to make it all the way there. Somewhere inside of Maddy's heart, Badeline is meditating. Maddy sometimes imagines her -- stripped of her destructive powers, and her voice no longer a dissonant snarl, and her appearance no longer holding any menace to Maddy. To her imagination, Badeline can still float, and make a few duplicates, but she's no more menace than a sneaky strawberry thief.

Madeline always snorts when she remembers that. She had not noticed it when it happened. From her perspective, she remembers calm, and finally having her snow-clothes off and her hair pulled up into a ponytail, and she was chatting with Theo then, feeling admiration radiate off of him, letting him chatter excitedly, letting him take her picture for a silly InstaPix post. Maddy remembers clear evening weather, down at the base of the mountain, and how happy she was, simply to breathe in and breathe out, and no longer be so offended by Badeline's teasing, and really let it sink in that they were no longer fighting. How wonderful that felt -- serene -- not everything was fixed yet, she knew -- she'd have to spend a lot of discipline in the coming months, learning to pay attention to Badeline when Badeline no longer took the form of an "adorable goth Madeline" who would chuck an occasional snowball at Maddy, or chuckle silently at any mishap Madeline made, or, one time, when Madeline was about to rush into a situation that she, too, knew was over her head:

_"Stop! You'll get hurt!"_

That squeal. That sincere, startled fright. The genuine panic -- Madeline would hear such things and no longer hear any menace at all. No more bite. No more purple nails, digging into her skin -- no more tendrils of darkness crushing the air from her chest -- no more eldritch abominations frightening her into turning back.

Madeline, upon hearing Badeline's startle, would look back and smile.

"Okay," she'd say, stepping back from whatever situation had sent trepidation into her heart too. She walked closer to Badeline, and placed a sincere hand on her cheek. "Let's find another way. Thanks for looking out for me."

"I...? I-- okay. Let's do this!"

There was enthusiasm in that voice. But also, the quiver in her catlike pupils -- the sudden stiffening of her arms -- Badeline was flustered. Flustered!

_That's on me_, Madeline had realized shortly thereafter. _She's never been acknowledged like this before. I... I've never even thanked her, until now._

And it had been that timid soul. That sweet, startled voice -- that meek, helpful friend, who was so happy to not be called a monster anymore -- it had been that timid soul who kept stealing strawberries when Maddy wasn't looking!

_I knew I was missing some. It just didn't seem QUITE like one hundred and seventy-five berries to me by the time I got to making the filling._ Madeline, in the present, scrunches her eyes shut, wriggling closer to the campfire, but not too close. _I guess I didn't want to blame her for anything, no matter how trivial... but of COURSE she'd do that!_

Madeline thinks she must have been talking to Theo at the time. When he paid attention to her... well. She very clearly got the sense that he was admiring her, appreciating her, praising her -- not overly so, and not on basis of achievement (well, okay, so he DID admire her reaching the summit after all) -- but just for her personality. He was happy for her -- he had been so somber, the night of their talk outside the Mirror Temple, and all the things they said about the past and future and depression and coping mechanisms -- and so he shifted again, when Madeline became happy. Maddy felt waves of warmth, happiness, tranquility -- excitement for the future, excitement to keep working together with her other half, and finally make some progress -- living her life as ALL of herself. Theo had become happy just to see her how she was. She saw it in his eyes. The intentness. The genuine delight that everything worked out. And of course, that childish glee in expectation of strawberry pie.

Madeline had observed him fondly as he snapped more pictures of her. That must have been when Badeline did it. It was only a few, Madeline knows -- but Badeline did it, and Maddy didn't realize until the car ride home, when snow was fluttering by, and the highway was empty, and Badeline was lax in shotgun seat, her head smooshed against the window as she watched the firs move past them, and Maddy saw the last signage for Celeste Mountain disappear.

She had to focus on the road, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Badeline dissolving into a white glow. Strength and courage rushed into Maddy's body. With Badeline gone, the shotgun seat belt slapped against leather upholstery. Maddy heard, in a voice laced with that supernatural echo but still trembling with fear, and close to sobbing --

_I love you, Maddy._

Madeline had been floored. She felt like stopping. She needed to pull over -- _no! keep driving, that's safer -- wait, is that you? -- I -- are you there --_

And Badeline was gone, and Madeline was left with just herself. All of herself.

Madeline's fingers had tightened on the steering wheel. That's it. They're going to have to try and make it work anyways now. They talked about this -- they agreed they'd keep listening to each other -- but Madeline still hadn’t been looking forward to it.

But then things started slipping into her head. Things that hadn't before, in the previous times she'd fused with Badeline -- and it is like a closer communication, a total understanding of all she had been through, rushing into her head all at once. She very quickly realized she was witnessing Badeline's perspective of all of it.

Frustration. _Why isn't Madeline listening to me? How does she ALWAYS get away?!_

Satisfaction. _We’re not going anywhere. It’s safer if you stay here and I hurt you._

Horror. _Oh gosh what have I been doing this entire time—_

The sensation of staring at trembling hands –

Trying to wrap herself in her hair, wishing she was invisible-- even as they were finally moving past it –even when they were climbing TOGETHER --

Grief, fear, nerves -- seeing Madeline grin with a threat -- (_climb out of here together?! No!_) -- The sense of despair at that determination, letting out a growl that lacked the usual sting and she knew it -- (_Madeline had better regret it anyways, she's not getting NEAR me, she can't, she can't drag me out of here! No! she's GOING to turn back) --_

Badeline's heart sinking, as Madeline pulled her hair back into a ponytail, cast away her down jacket, and tightened her shoelaces – she _couldn’t_ be serious --

_ She's going to defeat me once and for all and drag me up to the Summit like I'm her prisoner--_

And then, the feeling of that moment when Badeline lay defeated, her skin scuffed, her hair limp, her body curling in on itself at the very back of the most distant branch of the hollows, where not even crystal light reaches her -- tears, glimmering in her eyes, as she glanced up and Madeline saw herself from an outside perspective, walking forward with burning resolve in her eyes, and her own weak body steeled in a rigid unbroken stride.

Badeline had been scared. Terrified. But for Madeline not to leave her there -- _you could have turned around, I could have done my best to not exist--_ for her to instead kneel down and lift her up into a simple, accepting hug -- for her to say "we'll talk," and finally, FINALLY ease Baddy's fears, just by saying it was okay to be scared, because being scared made sense -- to finally be loved by herself --

Madeline's fingers trembled. Her gaze remained fixed on passing road. She can feel it. She can feel how it felt, when she accepted those hands around her shoulders, feebly pulled herself up, and buried her face in the warm skin of her own shoulder. How it felt to give the hug, and how it felt to receive it. She now remembers everything about what Badeline would know. These things are HER memories now -- all of them.

_I finally love myself… and I stole strawberries from my own damn pie filling._

Madeline still -- STILL -- grins when she thinks about it. What can she say? She knew she couldn't help it, but she did it anyways. It tasted great, and the pie still did too.

_I should have been friends with myself sooner. I could have used the company._

Her video chats with Theo have become part of her routine. They were slow at first. But then they picked up. And soon, Maddy couldn't imagine life without knowing him. She couldn't imagine life barely knowing him, either -- how did she ever wind up opening her entire heart and soul so quickly to just the perfect person?

_He loves me. He admires me. He wants my company, he admires my resolve, he -- he's happy for me, that I've learned to love myself._

Thinking these happy thoughts, in the campsite in the Forsaken City, with her arms wrapped around her chest, and her body totally limp in blissful repose -- even with the snow nipping at her cheeks, Madeline is asleep within minutes.

Darkness.

A place with a hazy feel, but Madeline, upon striking a flashlight, soon finds she is within a cavern filled with reflective crystals.

She's not scared of a place like this anymore. She likes adventures. This has no power over her -- or rather, it gives power to her, as one of the coolest places she's ever dreamt.

In her dream, Theo is there. Maddy knows that this place doesn't exist in real life. But she knows that she and Theo are about to do lots of cool exploring together.

A faint thought crosses her mind. She's going to confess to Theo before long. She’s been planning it since she agreed to come with Theo to the Summit. Maybe she should do it before they get to the Summit -- after all, she wouldn't want it to taint his experience of being at the Summit if he had to reject her there of all places.

A dissonant chord strikes in Madeline's heart.

She whirls around to face something she knows to be ever present.

Glass shatters.

Madeline wakes up.

Madeline doesn't scream herself awake. But she does find herself blinking wearily and staring upwards at a shadow. She can't see the moon... wait, that’s a PERSON hanging over her!

Madeline squints.

Long tresses of dark hair. They fall from the shadow’s head and tumble down to Madeline's face. They don’t suffocate her like they did, but they _do_\--

Madeline snickers, shrinking back and carefully brushing it away to keep from tickling her.

Pale red eyes blink. Rounded eyebrows knit together in worry. A fang bites a lower lip, and she starts shaking her head hurriedly, urgently, silently.

Excitement shoots through Madeline’s heart.

_Badeline!_

Madeline sits bolt upright, slides out of her sleeping bag, and encases Badeline in a _very_ tight hug.

Madeline hears the shortest of gasps and feels Badeline's body grow stiff. But, like ice melting into a warm drink, Badeline relaxes. Arms wrap around Maddy's back, hands clutch her shoulders from behind, a soft head rests against her own, and their long locks tumble down together.

Maddy’s heartbeat had been rapid: frightened at first, and then excited. Now it slows; and as it does so, she realizes:

_I can feel Badeline’s heartbeat!_

"I... didn't know I had one," Badeline mumbles. She withdraws from the hug, though she lets Madeline's hands remain on her shoulders. Her eyelids flutter as she tilts her head. "I guess I have one now."

"I guess so. Hey - You're back! _I missed you!”_

"Missed me?" Badeline says, and snorts. "I've been with you the whole time. Did you forget everything we learned?"

"I-- I know you're not going away, but -- I thought you liked having a body, and so that'd be the first thing you'd do when I got here -- materialize. Why wait 'til now?"

Badeline softens. "I-- I didn't think you needed me, just yet-- and--"

Badeline hugs her arms.

"I like when we're together," she says. "I appreciate when you want to see me, but... you're everything I'm not. We're... not whole, like this."

Madeline nods. "I need to remember to listen to you from outside. Which is totally different from what we've been doing lately... weird, something already feels different. I can't put my finger--"

A snore stops short. Madeline hears a harrowing, "hnuh?"

Madeline gasps and squeezes Badeline's shoulders. Badeline’s shoulders stiffen.

"Hey, Madeline?" Theo says, and Maddy can just barely see him rubbing at his eyes -- "is-- someone there?"

Madeline's mouth perks into a smile as she says, "Just me."

"Huh. I didn't know you-- hey, WAIT A MINUTE! Badeline!"

"Uh oh," Badeline squeaks.

"What? Hey, Theo's fine, he's our-- uh?" Madeline says.

As Madeline speaks, Badeline ducks behind her and clenches her back.

Madeline glances to Theo. Theo's eyes are dark glimmers of confusion. Madeline feels a shaky hold behind her as a face pushes itself into her hair.

"What's up?" Theo says, with not as much betrayal in his voice as Madeline can see in his despondent brow.

Madeline says, "Uhh........"

Badeline whimpers, _“I’m in my pajamas.”_

Madeline's heart is shot through with delight.

Madeline turns around, gently pries Badeline off of her, and looks more closely.

"Oh. My. Gosh," Madeline says. "YOU HAVE STRAWBERRY PAJAMAS?!"

"Woah, what? I didn't know she had pajamas at all. Maddy, what do they look like?"

Madeline glances over. Theo is rolled over and facing the other direction.

Maddy says, "Badeline, it's okay, he's not looking. I-- aww. Theo, they're really cute! They're just regular pajamas, but the fabric is a strawberry print, and -- awwwwwwwwww, the pocket is a strawberry too! And there's little red ruffles around the hems--"

"You’re embarrassing us," Badeline hisses, though her tone lacks venom or resentment. "And yes, I have strawberry pajamas. Deal with it."

"These are like -- my ideal pajamas. I need these back home -- how does this work? Can I still sew?"

"Let's see if you ever could," Badeline says. "Or maybe the sewing machine still hates us."

"Oh. Right... well, where did you get these? Aren't you cold?"

Badeline hops into the air, floating in the moonlight, her hair rising with power as Madeline admires the full majesty of the strawberry pajamas, Badeline’s body silhouetted dramatically in the sky --

"Your clothes are made of material fibers," Badeline says. "Mine are made of magic. I didn't care much for a wardrobe before, but since our self-esteem has gotten better..."

"And that wardrobe includes _strawberry pajamas. _Do they stay with you? Do you -- wait, so you can just wear anything?"

"It won't be real," Badeline says. "And I have to want to wear it. But yes, I suppose I could."

"Then -- can I see what you look like in that cosplay we've been thinking about?"

Badeline chokes.

_“Theo can’t know we’re into cosplay!”_

Madeline blinks. "...Doesn't he already?"

Theo says distantly, "It's super cool and I’m a super nerd!” 

"Well-- yes-- but, okay. If we go to a convention, wearing _that_, it would be totally ridiculous!"

"Not at a convention."

"Yeah, but-- cosplay! I-- I know we want to, but-- Okay. I'm scared. You got me."

Madeline smiles. "It's okay to be scared," she says.

Badeline sighs. "Yeah, yeah. We're going to do it anyways, and it's going to be good for us, and we're going to like it. Just... how will we explain it to the extended family?"

"I was thinking I'd talk to you about that," Madeline says. "I really don't know."

Badeline drifts down, until her feet touch softly in the snow. The ripple in her hair, the fluttering in the hems of her pajama pants -- they die down, and Badeline is left standing like a normal mortal. Just some short post-college Canadian who spends a lot of time in her own head.

Just like Madeline.

But that's okay.

"We can't really sew," Badeline says. "We'll never pull it off."

"Yeah, but-- maybe we will! I think we ought to try."

"You're right. As always." Badeline crosses her arms. She deadpans but doesn’t glare.

"Well then?" Madeline says, tilting her head. "Right now it's just us... and Theo... how about we try it anyways?"

"I-- I'm not sure if he'd recognize-- I—Maddy if we try it this way, this will blow our expectations way out of proportion!"

"Okay," Maddy says. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

She had stood up to admire the sight of Badeline's flowing power (and pajamas). Now she sits back down, hugging her arms and trying to brush some of the cold off her skin. It's time to go back to bed anyways.

"Wait," Badeline says. "I-- okay, you got me. I DO want to do it."

Madeline's face lights up. This isn't what she was expecting -- she really would have been okay with Badeline not doing it. But now she's excited.

Badeline's chest rises with a deep, focused breath, and she lets one leg draw up in front of her, her spine stretching as magic flows back into her hair, and her clothing begins to ripple and change --

Soft white light fades away.

Madeline, alert and enthused, her previous sleep-fuzziness finally obliterated by the excitement running through her heart -- stands back up. She stares into the mixed glows and shadows from flickering campfire, tall trees around them, the shining moon, splintering telephone poles, bright magic, and the Mountain that surrounds them.

Badeline's skin is clasped in gilded armor. Her hair pulls up behind her into a long ponytail, though it does not change color. A circlet dances into existence, wrapping around her forehead. In an effect like a current of pixels washing through the air around her, a spear and a shield form in her hand and on her arm.

"How do I look?" Badeline says, eyelids lax with smugness, and her smile genuine enough to show her fangs. "Think we could make this in time for RTX?"

"RTX? I wish. We can't make travel plans for Texas at this time of year -- hey, wait! Theo -- show Theo! THEO, LOOK!"

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIII don't recognize you," Theo says, his words dazed with the sleep that reclaims him-- "but you look super cool... anime-Badeline..."

Badeline rolls her eyes but she's still smiling. "RWBY isn't an anime... or is it?"

Madeline shrugs.

"I don't think we could make it look THAT cool," she says. "But... wait, I have the hair! How did I start planning this without realizing that I have her hair?!"

"Because you were too stressed out about Worbla prices, darling. At least we have the shortcut on hair, though the money we spend on shampoo probably outweighs a good wig." Badeline twirls her spear in her hand. "Anyhow, Theo -- this is Pyrrha Nikos. She--"

"DON'T YOU DARE SPOIL IT FOR HIM!"

"What? How dare you insinuate that. I thought we agreed that THAT is out of the question. Even though I AM the person who told him Snape kills Dumbledore."

"Don't remind me!" Theo moans. "I'll never read the series now -- I'm spoiled forever!"

Meekness crosses Badeline's face. "I-- yeah. I'm-- I'm still a little sorry, about that."

"We thought you probably already knew," Madeline says. "Or at least had it spoiled for you by the Internet.”

Theo grumbles. But his head lifts, as he squints harder and fumbles in his backpack pocket --

"Do I get a cosplay Badeline selfie?"

Badeline's lips tighten. "No-- full-on photos—_please.”_

"I won't post it--"

"Theo," Maddy says, "Don't pressure her."

"Oh, okay. She's the camera-shy part of you... aw, I'm so sorry. I forgot."

Badeline stuffs her face in the palms of her hands. "It's bad enough that you got pictures of Madeline and I cuddling."

"I haven't shown those to a soul. You know I haven't posted them. Do you want me to delete them? I can if you want."

Madeline tilts her head curiously at Badeline.

Badeline doesn't lift her face.

_'Just between you and me...'_ her voice says, cutting into Madeline's thoughts, _'I let that happen. I... I like him as much as you do. I didn't really mind... I trusted him... and, well, I wanted him to have something to remember us by.'_

Madeline gasps. "We have telepathy?!"

Badeline peers through her fingers. "We do now," she says slowly.

"We-- wow, we didn't before. It's like -- it's like we're still fused? That's crazy. This is crazy, so much is happening already -- your powers are changing! I love that -- I feel like this means something really significant and cool--"

"We're separate but can still read each other's minds," Badeline concurs. "And I can tell... that you are extremely tired. Go to bed, Madeline."

"Yeah, but-- what about you--"

Badeline raises her arms to the heavens, and her clothing changes in a flash to her pajamas.

She gazes restfully at Madeline. "To answer your question," she says, "I'm warm if you're warm. It doesn't matter what I'm wearing."

"Oh... okay. How long have we been like this? Totally empathetic to each other's moods -- "

"They're not moods," Badeline says. "Not just yet, when we’re separated. I don't think we have THAT level of synchronicity. But our bodily states... Well. I used to run on energy from the Mountain. And now, I run on _you._"

Every word sounds so personal to Maddy, but none of it unsettles her. This isn’t a friend, this isn’t a family member… this is _her. _She gives Badeline one last smile before curling back up in her bag.

"'Night, me," Madeline mumbles, her eyes closed, her body free of worry and tension.

A chuckle.

"'Night, Maddy."

The sleeping bag begins to rustle.

Madeline's eyes spring open. "Wait, what--"

Madeline feels a back pressed to her own. "There's room for two of us. We're short."

"We're... really doing this?" Madeline says, clutching her hands together --

"...Do you have a problem with it?"

"...No."

The sleeping bag continues to rumple around them, as Badeline adjusts-

Madeline's heart stops, as a clammy arm wraps over her stomach, and a half-smooshed hand grasps her shoulder. She's being spooned! Spooned by the angry part of herself that once tried to kill her!

_'No more running,'_ Madeline reflects. _'We're us. All of us.'_

Badeline agrees. Madeline feels a forehead pressing into the back of her head.

Madeline feels an instant of happy repose -- that prickling in her mind, like they're about to fuse.

_'Hey,'_ Madeline supposes, as she relaxes into Badeline's cuddle. _'Why ARE you back? I'm glad to hang out again, but if we're separated, that means something's wrong, right?'_

Badeline lets out a wistful, whisper-quiet sigh.

_'We are in disagreement right now. In this case... Well. I've manifested to protect you from yourself, just like before. I hope that this time, I'm not so misguided -- but if you think I'm wrong, we'll talk about it.'_

_'Wrong about what?'_

_'Theo.'_

Madeline's body ices over.

_'Do you... do you not feel the same way, as I do?'_

_'Madeline, Madeline... we LOVE him. That is all of us. I love him, and I’m scared we could lose him.'_

Madeline's eyes are open. She stares, at the slowly-dying campfire flames, as Badeline voices the concern that has been running circles in Madeline's mind full-time for the past three months --

_'If we confess and he doesn't love us back... he might not want to be our friend anymore.'_

_‘NO!’ _The distressing thought of losing Theo wracks Madeline's head. _'No... We've come so far, and gotten so close -- he has to reciprocate! He HAS to!’_

_'I don't know, Maddy. If he doesn't, things could end badly. We'll probably still be friends... maybe... but things would get weird, wouldn't they? We wouldn't be able to go back to what we have right now.'_

Madeline thinks of how wonderful the day with Theo has been. How much they've talked, how much they've hugged --

_'The hug selfie. There was a hug selfie.'_

_'We don't know what that means!'_

_'Okay. You're right. So... We disagree. Now what?'_

_'We give it time,'_ Badeline tells her, _'and we wait and see.'_

_Wait and see_. That's the kind of wisdom Madeline would have given her, when she first started being more patient with Badeline. But now she's on the receiving end of it...

_'Badeline?'_

_'Hmm?'_

_'We'll talk about this. It's okay that we disagree -- you might be right, and I might be wrong. But I am REALLY hoping he loves us after all.'_

_'We'll wait and see,'_ Badeline says.

And that is all Maddy hears from her for the evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long first chapter woohoo  
also: this is now version 1.1 of this chapter. why? i changed the spelling of "maddie" to "maddy" bc i was wrong the first time lololololol


	2. I Think I'm in Love (But it Makes Me Kind of Nervous to Say So)

“Okay. Take a nice, big, deep breath, and… let it out.”

Badeline does so, feeling early morning air leave her lungs, a crushing weight emptying out of her –

“That’s it,” says a kind voice. “All done.”

Badeline’s eyes flutter open as she smiles softly. “That felt nice.”

“Madeline, hey!”

“Theo! I didn’t know you were up. I was just doing meditation with myself. You know, as one does.”

“That’s… a little unusual of a way of doing it,” Theo says, running a wooden comb through his beard. “But… I suppose you may as well if you can, right?”

Badeline drifts close to Maddy and lay a possessive arm over her shoulder. “We’ve been doing this for several months now. It’s only just now that we’re doing it separated. But what can I say? I like the attention.”

Madeline snorts, delicately laying her hands over Badeline’s. “This is just how we start our day now.”

Theo grins. “Cool! I like it.”

This is it – their first full day together on Celeste Mountain. Badeline notices Madeline pat her fingers reassuringly, before shrugging Badeline off of her body. Badeline drifts back, but watches. _She’s going to say something to Theo._

“I’m really proud of you,” Theo says, slinking down into his sleeping bag as he buttons a flannel shirt. “You’ve made some really great changes in the past months. …I wish I could say the same for me.”

“No, I think you’re doing alright,” Madeline says, running through her own hair with a flimsy backpacking hairbrush, working the bristles through where her hair is stiff with melted frost. “You’re supporting Alex because that’s where you need to be, and you’re back here because you felt like you had to.”

Theo blinks.

“That’s true,” he says. “I’ve got… some sort of calling, at least.”

Madeline tilts her head. “Well, it doesn’t matter that it’s not _work_ related. I know you’re still worried about that. But it’s honestly a good thing that you’re here just because. I think it’s what your grandfather would want.”

Theo’s smile cracks wider. “Maybe that’s it. My old man _would_ want me to see the Summit. Maybe this is him not letting me rest until I’ve seen the real deal! Ha!”

Maddy’s eyes narrow in determination. “You save that camera battery. You are going to lose your mind taking Summit selfies. I can already see it.”

“Oh, that’s totally it. In fact – I’m not using my camera at _all_ until we get there. Right now it’s just been _phone_ selfies. Save the big guns for the big show.”

“You took both? Theo, that’s awesome!”

Theo smirks. “At least I’m more fired up about photography. …I really should try and take after you, though. You do so much more than I do as far as… well, health. You’re actually conditioned for this, and I still eat junk all the time. No _wonder_ the Mountain gives you but not me an adorable superpower demon.”

“I started doing what I do because I needed more focus. …You could get serious too if you wanted to, but I don’t think you should feel like you have to just because _I’m_ doing it.”

“Aw. Thanks, Maddy, that helps… hey, Badeline, you okay? Kind of quiet this morning.”

“I’m fine. Really, you should be worried about taking after your sister, not us – _Alex_ isn’t the person who accumulated two thousand forum posts just by telling Internet strangers how wrong they were about the ending to _LOST._”

Madeline looks backwards at Badeline and shoots her a gentle glare. “And _that _is why we got started on digital minimalism.”

Badeline shrugs. “Okay, okay. You’re right. It’s been… way nicer, to focus that energy on ourselves.”

“Ourselves,” Madeline says, blinking slowly.

And then, she reaches forward, brushing the bangs away from Badeline’s face. Badeline shrinks back, but she can’t pull herself away from Madeline’s fascinated stare.

“You look different. Your eyes are less red… and, hey! You’ve got my blush!”

“What?!” Badeline splutters. “I—I didn’t know I looked different!”

“You don’t look hurt anymore, or angry. Still a little sinister, but that’s okay. Show me your teeth.”

Badeline tensely bares her teeth, unsure of how she looks.

“Aww, yeah! You’ve still got the fangs. Baddy, I’ve got to hand it to you – you’ve got the best traits of both of us!”

“What?! _You’re_ the best traits of both of us—”

_SNAP!_

Badeline’s head bobs up. She stares in horror at Theo kneeling in front of her, his phone held up in front of his face.

“Maximum adorableness!” Theo says, lowering his phone to reveal his beaming countenance. “Like I said, I won’t post any of these. I get that you want to keep a low profile.”

“I—wow, not even Alex knows I exist, is that right?”

Theo nods. “I’ve left out a lot of details from my story. I’m sure she wouldn’t believe them unless she saw them for herself. And anyways, even though I’ve told her a lot about _you,_ Madeline, I haven’t exactly spilled the beans on your personal struggles. …I don’t know how much you two have talked about together, though.”

Madeline closes her eyes and takes in a wistful sigh. Badeline feels a wave of warmth come off of Madeline. Alex… Alex has helped them with a lot, actually.

_I just wish we could meet in person._

It’s never worked out. The same person who talked to them about doing what’s healthy even when Madeline didn’t want to – the same person who _finally_ got Madeline to quit caffeine… well. There’s more to their health than caffeine, but Madeline has learned a lot of other things too from Alex, like how to feel worth in small ways, without having to climb a mountain just to prove herself. For those days when the whole mountain thing would be a little inconvenient.

_Alex is so cool I don’t know how she lets us keep videocalling her –_

Madeline shoots a glare back at Badeline. _‘Shush,’_ she says. _‘I’d like to think Alex likes us.’_

_‘Sorry.’_

Madeline shakes her head softly. _‘You’re okay, you’re okay. I shouldn’t shush you, actually.’_

Even after eight months of little reassurances from Madeline, it still feels weird to be validated. Baddy nervously presses her fingertips together. Madeline has _apologized_ for things that she used to do to Badeline all the time. Shushing her, hurting her… now they’re working together and things are getting to be okay.

_Alex probably **does** like us. And… even if she sees us as flawed… she probably just wants to help us._

_‘She’s probably been in our shoes,’ _Madeline agrees.

“You two ready to head to the Old Place?” Theo says, heaving his backpack onto his shoulders.

Badeline nods, as Madeline gives him a thumbs-up.

_Theo._

Nervous energy prickles across Badeline’s skin like lightning. Theo is the real thing they have to be worried about here. Theo is what they lose if things go wrong.

As Badeline walks out of the campsite, and gives one last glance backwards, she is met by Madeline, who gives her a simple, soft pat on the shoulder, and stares at her with serious sympathy, and then they are gone.

“Okay, Badeline. We’re going to rocket through here at _record_ speed. All I want you to do is… Badeline?”

“Huh?” Badeline says, startling.

_She had been staring at Theo._

Madeline gives her that intent gaze. _‘I know you’re worried. But we’ll deal with this best if we just focus on the way ahead.’_

_‘I—Okay. Okay. But he’s **right there-**‘_

_‘I want you to be genuine with me. Is the Mountain making our anxieties resurface?’_

_‘What?!’_

_‘How much of this is the Theo situation, and how much of it is just being back here?’_

Badeline presses a hand to her forehead, brushing past her bangs to just feel the warmth of her skin on her skin, and the pressure of something real against her mind. _‘…’_

_‘You’re here. And I’m glad to see you again, but: if I understand you correctly, it’s because we’re anxious. Maybe needlessly so.’_

Badeline gasps. “You wouldn’t…”

Madeline blinks, and seems to realize what she just thought. _‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t dismiss you again. That’s NOT how I want us to live. The Mountain just brings out a lot in us. And even though it’s done us good… I’ve forgotten how, whenever we’re here, things become really extreme.’_

Badeline gulps. And she begins to wring her hands – _I’m extreme, I’m… I’m the sign of a problem?_

_‘No. You’re trying to help me through a situation we aren’t sure about. This is just how we handle things. To be honest, I probably need you here now. It’s easier for me to figure this out by discussing it with you than by trying to calculate it inside my own head.’_

Badeline is suddenly hooked around the arm and finds that Madeline is dragging her forward up the path, into drifting snow and sloping crags, and Badeline realizes she’s being forced, for a while at least, to focus on something tangible and get out of her mind.

So it _does_ clear their minds.

They tried to fuse and failed. So instead they’re rocketing up the slopes in bursts of dashing and wall-jumping, and repeated backing-up to help Theo over the terrain that he can’t so easily traverse.

“I don’t know how you do it,” Theo says, breathless. “You’re just… boundless energy… and floating.”

Badeline gives an affable eye-roll. “This would be better if _all _of my powers still worked.”

“I still say you should try again,” Madeline says. “To use outdated Internet slang… you just need to try and yeet me a little higher than I can normally go.”

Badeline lounges backwards in the air, cocking one brow and biting her nails. “I… ah… again?”

Theo tilts his head to one side. “It’s fun watching you try, even if it doesn’t work.”

_‘Is he—’_

_‘See, look—’_

_‘Making FUN—’_

_‘He likes us!’_

_‘—of us?’_

Madeline and Badeline are staring at each other intently. Badeline feels sweat beading on her body, and—the faint prickling of tears, at the backs of her eyes.

“Hey,” Theo says, softly edging between them. “You two talking about me behind my back?”

“No,” Madeline says, “I just-“

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” Badeline screams.

“Hey. Hey, hey, hey. How about we stop and meditate?”

“I don’t want to. We need to keep going.”

“Okay, we’ll keep going. Think we’ll make it to the Resort soon?”

“That was a terrible idea,” Badeline hisses. “Why are we _staying there_ now?”

Madeline pouts. “Because we’ve always felt bad for Mr. Oshiro, and the Presidential Suite is probably habitable by now. And plus, now that you’re out of the mirror, you can’t break _his.”_

They spend the rest of the day exploring the ruins of the Old Site, with Theo snapping endless pictures of details and crevasses, and Madeline pulling some sweet parkour stunts.

Madeline does a mid-air dash and backflips down a flight of stairs. “Hey, Badeline!”

“Yah?” Badeline says, skirting to a halt (she’s been careening through hallways in her effort to keep up with Maddy’s stunts, but as her exasperation built, she eventually discovered – _wait – I’m having fun!_).

“Have you tried duplicating yourself? I bet you could do some really cool stuff.”

“I—Okay.” Badeline clenches her fists. She’s been _trying_ already, passively, but only for herself – not for Maddy. She hasn’t been able to replicate her lasers, telekinesis, or demon hair so far on this trip. But she’s really spent the most energy trying to do as Madeline says and make copies of herself – her earliest power, and the one she misses most. _It would be so fun to mess with Maddy or give Theo some cool photo ops, that’s all I want to do—_

Badeline tries to remember the feeling of her power reaching out through her body, and copies swirling out of her essence. She takes a deep breath…

She is floating. But nothing else happens.

Badeline feels a warm hand upon her shoulder.

“It’s okay if you can’t,” Madeline says. “I’m not surprised that your powers have changed.”

“Changed? They’re _gone_—”

“But we have telepathy. We might have had to pay a price for that.” Madeline shrugs. “You don’t have the same powers you used to hurt me.”

Badeline feels herself go flush in the face. _I used to **hurt** Maddy… I was holding us back…_

“I could have used those same powers to help us, though…”

“Help us get farther, maybe. But it’s not what we need right now – we’d get too far ahead of Theo. Right now, we have telepathy, and that’s all we need.”

Badeline takes another huge breath. Madeline is right. Madeline is _always_ right –

_‘Not about everything. Maybe not even about Theo. You’re okay, okay? I’m not upset with you for being here.’_

_‘Okay.’_

Badeline sighs; and as she does so, she drifts out of the air to slump against Madeline’s shoulder. She _is_ leaning against her a lot right now; it frustrates her to be apart, after months and months of increasing unity with Madeline. She didn’t need this body this time, she really didn’t, she swears – she likes when she and Maddy share their one human experience. The stuff that happens to them makes more sense. Madeline actually does listen to Badeline better than she has on this trip so far, in spite of her constant reassurances. And, really, that is all the validation that Badeline needs – external appreciation makes her stammer and blush and hide her face with elation, true, but she only finds it necessary to be accepted as a part of Madeline, _by_ Madeline. If Theo accepts all of Madeline, and her family accepts all of her too, then Badeline feels loved enough.

She thinks.

Is Theo’s love conditional? Maybe he _wouldn’t_ be pushed away by the discovery of Madeline’s unrequited crush on him?

_No. I have to protect her._

_‘And I appreciate the protection. Stay close to me and we’ll work it out, I **promise.**’_

Badeline bites her nails, but she feels warm appreciation for Madeline flowing through her body. Has she _really_ missed the destructive powers that much?

Madeline has only been trying to coax them out of her for fun… they were just wanting to experiment. Pull cool stunts. Unlock the true potential of enchanted mountain demon parkour. Madeline has let this roll off of her easily; her gaze is focused and interested on the path, and shows no disappointment in it at all.

Badeline has decided it. If she has to be unfused from Maddy, this is the way to be. She doesn’t need to destroy the environment, or have eldritch abominations under her thumb, or shoot searing balls of energy at people. All she needs is to feel like part of Maddy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more will definitely happen next chapter... i just decided to have this one be its own bc the resolution feels like a chapter ending  
this fic is shaping up to be more complex than a simple romcom. wait and seeeeeeee


	3. Never Gonna Give You Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOO BOY are yall ready for some THICKENING PLOT??  
this is now the longest celeste fanfiction. i don't know how to feel about this

It is past noon when they come to a place where snow is kicked aside, a shabby campfire still is smoldering, and bits of torn litter cling to scrawny bushes.

“Hey, what’s up here?” Theo says, casting down his bag for a second. “Some idiot couldn’t pick up his garbage?”

Badeline snorts. “Ugh. I can’t _stand_ that. Every time we go out to a place in nature, there ALWAYS has to be a Crush can left in some inconvenient location! If you can bother to stand it up on a pile of rocks, YOU CAN BOTHER TO CARRY IT OUT WITH YOU!”

Madeline blinks. “Woah, woah, Baddy, no need to go all demon now. …Although, I share your frustration. Let’s pick this up and pack it out. Theo, got any room?”

Badeline sighs, her riled-up hair settling down over her shoulders. Her feet drift over the surface of the snow as she floats across the clearing to an aluminum can that, sure enough, is set noticeably upon a rock. She faintly hears Theo and Maddy conversing over the crinkling of a plastic bag.

Badeline’s eyes narrow. Her lip curls downwards as she makes out the logo on the can – and, like a bolt of darkness has shot across her heart, she lets out a panicked whimper.

“Badeline?” Madeline asks, clear concern in her voice --

_“Maddy. There’s nothing wrong – you just need not to be upset about this, okay?”_

_Madeline tried her best to listen. She really did._

_For him, she’d try her best to be happy. It would be good for her to try and be a less negative person anyways, right?_

_VENOM ENERGY_

It’s probably nothing.

But it still brings her back to a place she’d rather not be. Badeline stands there, clenching her head, as her breathing goes quick and shallow –

_“There’s nothing wrong with the way I treat you. You’re overreacting. Come on – let’s kiss and make up. It’ll make you feel better.”_

Badeline trembles, cowering, and retains enough balance to quickly sit down before she falls over.

“The feather, Badeline. The feather.”

The feather. Theo’s warmth. Maddy’s heartbeat, as she draws Badeline into a loose hug and breathes with her, in and out, soft and steady –

And like that, the past dissolves, and Badeline is brought out of it before it gets any worse.

Madeline lets her go and wipes a tear away from her own face. “How are you doing?”

Badeline’s shoulders draw up. “What if he’s _here?”_

“It’s probably just some litter,” Madeline says. “But even if he is here, we don’t have to talk to him. I promise. We won’t stop him, we won’t let him stop us, we just keep going and avoid him. Okay?”

“What if he came here to talk to _us._ He could be stalking us _again_—”

“Hey. I don’t think he could be. Mom’s the only one we told about this trip, besides Theo and Alex.”

Badeline heaves another huge breath. “Okay.”

It is then that Badeline notices Theo. He is hunkered down on a low boulder, concern knitted in his brow as he observes both in their conversation. But he leans forward, and there is understanding in his focused attention. “You two. Is _he_ a vengeful ex, or just some stalker?”

Badeline clutches Maddy’s arm. “Both.”

Madeline places an arm around Badeline’s shoulder as she looks over to Theo. “Our ex, Devin, is a rotten person. I have no problem saying that now, because I can see clearly that he lacked empathy. But at the time, he made us a bad person too. He’s possessive. There’s been times that he didn’t care about trying to keep up with me – but we’ve also had a couple of bouts where he tried to track me down and I had to tell him I wouldn’t date him ever again.”

“Yikes. Bad sign.”

Madeline seems to pause for a moment, thinking. There _is_ more to this than just him being a stalker. This is the first time Madeline and Badeline have specifically talked about this _together_, right? Normally they’ve dealt with this away from the Mountain, while they weren’t separate.

“Devin seriously messed with me,” Madeline says. “He kept making me think I was the problem. He constantly disregarded how I felt, just because my emotions were ugly to him.”

Badeline sniffs.

“I’m sorry,” Madeline says. “I know you got the worst of it.”

Badeline lets out a low grumble.

“He… convinced me… to hurt Badeline. I ignored her and shut her out for longer because of that. I’m excusing myself– but he made me think I was doing the right thing to fight myself.”

“I know we’re dropping this on you suddenly,” Badeline says. “But we _really_ don’t like talking about Devin.”

“No, no,” Theo says. “I understand.”

“I trust you,” Madeline says, “We just figure you should know what we’re dealing with.”

“If he’s back,” Badeline says, “I will throw him off the side of the Mountain to keep him from hurting Madeline.”

“If this guy hurt you,” Theo says, “_I _want to be the one to throw him off the Mountain_._”

Madeline blinks, and Badeline looks up, surprised, as Theo stands over them with his arms crossed.

Madeline falls very quiet. “He never physically hurt us,” she admits. “But… it started to look… like he was going to.”

“I broke free,” Badeline says, “and got us into a _huge_ fight with Devin. He kept trying to keep Madeline but push me away. But we couldn’t handle being messed with any longer. We managed to break it off… although, after that, Maddy and I went right back to not communicating to each other.”

“He did lasting damage to us. He wasn’t the only thing, and we’ve had other trauma, but… he made a lot of existing issues worse. I kept emotionally hurting myself for months after we stopped speaking, until we finally couldn’t take it anymore and went to Celeste Mountain to sort things out.” Madeline still has a quick heartbeat, but it’s starting to slow. Badeline gasps, feeling Madeline’s hands slowly encircles her wrist. “I’m sorry... I wish I’d never listened to a word he said.”

“We’ve talked about this,” Badeline says. “It’s in the past and I’m not upset with you. Theo… we didn’t tell you about Devin, because… well, it would have been weird.”

“Hey, hey, it’s alright. You were never obligated to bring him up before. But… wow, dude must have really liked his energy drink, huh?”

Badeline heaves a sigh. “_Always_ Venom Energy. We can’t see it in the store without thinking of him.”

“That’s not surprising,” Theo says. “I’ve heard that before about traumatic experiences.”

“You’re so understanding,” Madeline says, smiling. “We’re glad to have you around.”

Badeline’s cheeks flush when she glances down.

“Thanks, Maddy. But… listen, if this dude is out to stalk you, we can turn back, okay? I don’t want to get us into any situation where you could be in trouble.”

Badeline clenches her face with the sides of her hands. _‘He makes a good offer…’_

“Hey,” Maddy coaxes. “It could just be litter.”

“_Devin _litters_.”_

“If he shows up… we could turn back then.”

_“Why wait for him to show up?”_

“Girls. Hey. I—I really wouldn’t mind. I know I came back here to see Celeste Mountain. But I’d have just as much hitting the streets with you, if you wouldn’t mind showing me around Vancouver.”

Maddy looks pleadingly at Badeline. “What do you think?”

Badeline closes her eyes. _I know Maddy wants me to keep going. I know she doesn’t want this to be interrupted._

_But Theo wouldn’t mind… and I **need** to keep Maddy away from Devin. We’ve been doing good not to call him again. We don’t need to see him ever again. Things are going good – we could turn around now, before things go south._

_But…_

_I don’t want to be the reason that we turn around._

Badeline opens her eyes. “We keep going,” she says. “And if we find trouble, we turn around.”

“Thank you,” Madeline says. “I know that must take a lot of courage, for you to decide. We _won’t_ let Devin ruin this for us.”

Badeline finds herself smiling, showing her fangs. Madeline’s validation is always a refreshing experience to her. And with Theo suddenly grinning and draping his arms around Madeline and Badeline’s shoulders, Badeline finds herself convinced she has said the right answer, for the right reason.

Badeline grumbles, gently dragging her nails across her sleeve, as Madeline dings the bell for service.

“Hi,” Madeline says, smiling at Mr. Oshiro. “It’s me, Madeline. And you might remember my… uh… twin sister, Badeline.”

Mr. Oshiro clasps his hands together as he floats before the girls. “Ah! Misses Madeline and Badeline, a pleasure to have you here to stay!”

“You two have fun,” Theo says, briefly warming his hands by the fireplace in the hotel foyer. “I’ll enjoy my self-reflective _solo camping_ experience for the night.”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Badeline asks.

“Aw, Baddy. I’m going to be fine – I’ve camped under stars before. Hey, why do you think I’ve got the InstaPix handle I do?”

A thought suddenly occurs to Badeline. “Mr. Oshiro… We made our reservation online. There’s no way somebody could have accessed it, could they?”

“Ms. Badeline, I assure you that we keep all of our records private. Although our system is current and backed up regularly, there is no way that non-hotel staff could have viewed it. At the Celestial Resort, we are devoted to every aspect of our guests’ needs, and that includes privacy.”

Badeline looks at Madeline. _‘Well then. That’s one way he **can’t** be stalking us.’_

Madeline gives her a sincere smile. _‘Let’s get our Theo hugs and hotel dinner and head up to our room.’_

Badeline still finds herself sinking her face into a pillow and sulking.

“This place really is nice… ooh, look! There’s even a computer here now!”

It’s true. The dust is swept away from the presidential suite. And the decoration is far livelier – though the ancient wooden furniture remains, now there are curtains and accents in jewel tones, heightening mere elegance to the level of a Celeste Mountain sunset.

Badeline lolls on the bed, letting her limbs spill over the side. _How could Devin find us?_

“He hasn’t found us,” Madeline says. “Hey. Work with me here. We’re safe here and we’re safe whenever we’re with Theo. And I’m safe with you! We have nothing to worry about.”

Badeline scrunches her eyes shut. _‘You’re right. I’m over-worrying.’_

“No, no. It’s good for you to worry – you’re keeping me safe. But I’m glad we don’t have to turn around now. Hey, Badeline – now that we’re together up here, you know what that means?”

“There’s only one bed,” Badeline remarks, “and we’re going to have to share it.”

“No, I meant—well, that too. But considering we were already sharing a _sleeping bag_ I don’t think that’ll be a problem. What I was going to say is… _we get to have a slumber party!”_

Badeline gasps. Her eyes fly open. She shoots upright. “A _slumber party? _But—there’s only two of us—”

“I don’t care. I get to have a sleepover with my best friend! Just the two of us sounds _perfect_ to me – would you believe me if I said _this_ was what I was most looking forward to?”

“You just wanted to see me again…”

“We get to hang out. This is the _best possible circumstances. _I like talking to you – this is going to be so much fun!”

Badeline looks up to see that Madeline has already changed out of her grubby climbing clothes and into a light tank top and stretch pants – not exactly pajamas, but casual.

Badeline finds her spirits rising. No Devin. No worrying about Theo, even – just her, and Maddy. The Maddy she loves and protects and has been shown kindness to by for months and months. Madeline loves her and listens to her and has wanted to see her again just to _talk_ to her!

Maddy smiles, and warmth radiates off her person. She looks perfectly content, sitting cross-legged on the rug.

“I accept your invitation of a slumber party,” Badeline says. Magic sweeps across her outfit, transforming her mountain-climbing gear into strawberry pajamas. “And I know the first thing you’re thinking about doing.”

“You do?!” Madeline says, elated, suddenly on her feet. She doesn’t get very far, before—

_BAM!_

Badeline has slammed a pillow in Madeline’s face. Madeline stands frozen mid-stride, halfway to the bed to grab her weapon.

“Hey!” Madeline spits, recoiling just as Badeline does it again. Madeline winces. “No fair, you have to let me—”

“FEAR MY WRATH!” Badeline yells. “COWER BENEATH ME, MORTAL!”

“Woah! I’m—wait—aren’t _you _also—”

Madeline is probably making a good point, but Badeline finds herself cackling from the power-high of smiting herself with a feather pillow. Badeline hits her with an uppercut. Then across the face. She finds herself quickly checking in with Madeline, but Badeline doesn’t feel any sting on her own face, so she continues –

“WAUGH!” Madeline cries, backing further and further away –

“**YOU** PROPOSED THIS!” Badeline shouts, hitting Madeline full-body with the entire pillow. “DON’T ACT SURPRISED!”

Madeline’s arms are raised over her face. Badeline almost feels pity. Almost.

Badeline’s pillow strikes her again and again and again. Badeline edges closer and starts pummeling the back of Madeline’s head, letting herself cackle louder and more shrilly, as she feels her spirits rise with the rush of power and the realization that… wait… _I’m having fun!_

Meanwhile, in the background, the sun is setting. Through their window, an orange glow shines upon them: Badeline who moves swiftly and ethereally, and Madeline balled up small and inconspicuous. The once-dusty Presidential Suite is now a cozy, spacious room, perfectly still and tranquil save for Badeline and the person she is a reflection of.

Madeline pulls her face from her arms. Badeline sees that she is merely chancing a glance upwards (a smile is building on her face), but Badeline takes full advantage of the chance to smack Maddy across the face yet again.

Madeline’s head is glanced to one side, but she balls her fists and gets on her feet –

_“Cowering didn’t help you. But you stand up and **you’re not even trying to run?**_”

Badeline sees Madeline scrunch up her face tight, in preparation for another hit.

_Whap!_

_“You call this a pillow **fight** if you’re just standing there and **taking it** – “_

Badeline speaks menacingly, but she’s losing her edge; she feels a contagious, joyous feeling bleeding out of Madeline.

Madeline’s smile tightens, as Badeline smacks her again—

_Bam!_

“I thought you had more fight in you than this!” Madeline says, and starts laughing freely and loosely—

“_What. _Of—of course I have fight in me!” Badeline says, as she pauses to listen to Maddy’s laugh –

“Here,” Maddy says, determination sparking in her eye as she takes the pillow from the arms of a bewildered Badeline. “_My turn_.”

Badeline finds herself exhausted on the floor and breathless with laughter.

Madeline had been jumping around the room to chase Badeline in attempts to bash her with _both_ the room’s pillows. Badeline continually floated out of Maddy’s reach, before she decided to give in and let Maddy smother her in the face, so Badeline could laugh as she tried to break free. She didn’t put up _too_ much of a fight, really. Madeline is right. Badeline has no ferocity left for her – maybe for people who try to _hurt _her, any part of her, but Badeline knows she can never again target true anger at Madeline.

She is thinking all of this as she lay flat on her back, with Maddy catching her breath next to her in quiet, soft gasps.

_I can’t believe I ever tried to keep her safe by hurting her._

_I can’t believe I kept her out of danger by scaring her and bullying her._

“It’s not your fault,” Madeline says, her panting settling. “I kept you locked up… I did exactly what Devin told me to, even long after the breakup. I’m sorry.”

Badeline realizes that, in the excitement of the past minutes, she’s forgotten all about Devin.

Madeline gives her a merciful smile. “I’ve got another slumber party activity for you.”

“…Yeah?”

“_Let’s talk about crushes.”_

Badeline scrambles to sit upright. Crushes! They did say they would talk about Theo.

“Sooo,” Madeline says, leaning close to Badeline. “_Do you have a crush on anybody?_”

Badeline opens her mouth. “You already—”

“Ah! Wait, maybe you shouldn’t tell me. What if we have a crush on the same person?”

Madeline says that and then starts giggling uncontrollably.

Badeline rolls her eyes. “This escapade is making you incredibly immature.”

“Aw. Yeah, I get that I’m acting a third my age. This is the first sleep-over we’ve ever had, though—I _want_ to act ridiculous.”

Badeline thinks about that.

It’s true. They weren’t invited to any growing up. Madeline wasn’t _lonely_. She talked to people in her classes and was on good terms with the people she sat next to. She just didn’t have any friends who would specifically invite her to slumber parties, even if she did get to go to the odd birthday pizza outing.

“Theo is much easier to talk about than Devin,” Badeline remarks hesitantly.

“He’s also much easier to _be around_ than Devin. Honestly, he doesn’t belittle anything we go through, but he has this way of… taking the edge off things.”

“He listens to anything we’re going through,” Badeline adds. “And he doesn’t tell us it’s _nothing,_ but he also doesn’t egg us on with all the _you’re stronger than your negative emotions_ stuff we’ve heard from other people. He’s… genuine.”

“He’s soft, and empathetic, and likes to hang out with us.”

“Yeah.”

Badeline finds herself staring at Madeline.

“He’s perfect,” Badeline squeaks, picking the pillow up off the floor and sinking her face into it.

Madeline observes her with a fond smile. “Lemme show you something.”

“…Okay?”

Badeline gets up and follows Maddy as she goes to the computer. Madeline presses the power button and starts spinning around in the desk chair while she waits for it to boot up.

“I’m glad we didn’t destroy that pillow,” Badeline says. “In hindsight it could have ended badly.”

“Yeah, yeah. Maybe we _shouldn’t_ have had the pillow chase… but it was fun! And now we’re worn out.”

“You’re so carefree when we’re up here,” Badeline says. “About _everything._ Say… wait, this is because I’m here, isn’t it? I represent your inhibitions and hesitations, so that means _you’re_ a ball of senseless mush.”

“That would make sense. Guess I’ve got to be pretty careful to remember to listen to you… it’s funny, the first time we went here, it was _easier _to listen to you when you had your body.”

“And now that I’m locked out of the house, I’m just floating around and being clingy.” Badeline places her arms loosely around Madeline’s neck, and places her head against hers. _“Bonk.”_

Madeline laughs air-headedly.

“Are you okay? Seriously. You can’t be exhausted from the climb already.”

“’Course not. I’m exhausted from chasing you around like we’re children. Oh, look. It’s already booted – what kind of hotel room has a computer, anyways? On the one hand, it seems like a fancy idea, but on the other hand I think I would expect a hotel computer to be unbearably slow.”

Badeline leans in close. “What _are_ you looking at?”

Madeline’s fingers slam into the keyboard.

_Jinstapics_

_Theoundarest_

“Whoops!” Madeline says. “I typed kind of fast.”

Madeline corrects herself.

Badeline squints. “Theo’s Insta _again_?”

“Yup!” Maddy says, beaming as she pulls up a webpage of a long, scrolling grid of totally aesthetic images. “Check this out—aw, he’s cute! He posted a camping selfie!”

“Huh,” Badeline remarks.

“But what I wanted to show you _is_—” Madeline scrolls downwards, icons flying by until she gets to older posts – “us!”

Badeline blinks. They’ve looked at this picture before—a lot, actually, giddily clasping their hands on the occasions that they were cuddled up with their laptop and decided to check up on Theo’s insta. It’s a picture of Madeline sitting on the couch back home and gleefully cradling her own face. Her cheeks are tinted flusher than her usual warm complexion.

Madeline clasps Badeline’s shoulders and stares pointedly into her eyes. Badeline would be screaming and pushing this person out of her face if it was _anyone_ besides herself.

Madeline grins and recites the caption that Badeline already knows in her heart and ponders the meaning of every single day. _“There she iiis :D”_

Badeline blinks. “How did you say that out loud? Like _that_?!”

Madeline cackles, slapping her knee. “We were both thinking it.”

Badeline feels her entire face burning. _What does it mean? WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!_

_Click, click._

_“Maddy’s new hobby is badass, insert archery emote here,” _says Madeline.

Badeline, sitting on the floor, grabs her hair and wraps it in front of her face to hide herself from sight. _No no stop stop I don’t know what it means WHAT DOES IT MEAN_

_Click-click._

_“Going back home now, feeling so happy and recharged after this trip. Thank you Maddy, thank you friends, and see you next time! Strawberry emote.”_

Badeline growls into her hair, kicking her legs in frustration. _“MADDY WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME. I WANT HIM SOOOOOOO BAD.”_

A soft _thump_ as Madeline hops down onto the floor. Badeline senses fingers parting her hair, and she again sees Madeline making eye contact with her.

“I can’t tell if it’s our improved self-image, or if he really does take the best photos of us,” Maddy says. “But I think we’re _his_ Maddy.”

Badeline crosses her arms and pouts, but then relinquishes, lowering her head reluctantly. “He _has_ always really liked us…”

“I’d say we have a shot. You think I’m crazy?”

“No,” Badeline admits. “I think you’re… plausible.”

Madeline cheers. “So what’s your verdict?”

Badeline shies away. “You make a compelling argument,” she says, “but… I’m still scared.”

Badeline feels something on her shoulder. A reassuring couple of pats. Badeline grumbles but a begrudging smile crosses her face.

“It’s okay to be scared,” Badeline echoes, before Madeline even says it.

Madeline nods. “Good!”

With that, Badeline flops over on the floorboards. What if Theo _does_ like them? _Like_ like them? At least, it feels good to be admired the way they _know_ Theo admires them…

Madeline lies down and looks at Badeline. “Imagine him kissing us.”

Badeline splutters. _Oh my gosh oh my gosh_

“With his beard,” Madeline continues, “it’d probably be _so soft._ What do you think?”

Badeline hides her face in her hair. She’s decided she isn’t coming out this time.

“Badeline? …Baddy?”

Badeline can hear her own heart beating. She can picture Theo now. Warm smile, kind voice, open arms, soft flannel – _oh gosh now she’s feeling him –_

Madeline is giggling.

_Okay now she’s just doing this to mess with ME_

“Now imagine kissing him,” Madeline says.

Badeline can’t take it anymore. “GAAAAAH!” she yells, ripping her face from her hair so that she can yell at Maddy.

Madeline just starts laughing. “Okay, okay! I’m done messing with you.”

Badeline wrings her hair. “Why do you do this to me. WHY. It is TORTURE.”

“Hey, hey. I know it’s hard. We… we feel the same way. He’s so _good_ to us, and we know that it could just maybe be something more… but we don’t know, and it _is_ torture. But we’ll figure it out. I’m pretty optimistic.”

“It kind of sucks though,” Badeline says. “In case you don’t realize, that’d be a _long-distance relationship.”_

“I’m convinced we could pull it off. Theo… Theo is someone we can trust. He’d never hurt us.”

“Yeah… I know he’d never. But what if… what if _we_ were weak?”

“What do you mean?”

Badeline shirks away. Her hair is beginning to rise into the air.

“What if… what if _we_ met someone else? I can’t imagine anyone better than Theo, but what if—what if we had a moment of weakness—”

“Badeline,” Madeline says, her voice thick with concern and confusion. “We have _never_ cheated on anyone we’ve dated.”

“But—the long-distance relationship—there’s so many things that could go wrong! How would we even _handle_ being so in love with him and being _official_ but being apart all the time? That’s – that’s madness! I love him so much I want to wrap him up and be together with him FOREVER but that’d be like if – if you had accepted me but then we had to be apart for some reason?!”

“That’s different,” Madeline says. “You’re me. Theo is somebody else. I think we could manage being apart from him, as long as we’re all of _us._”

“That isn’t the point! That was just an example! There’s too many things wrong with this – _WE AREN’T READY FOR ANOTHER RELATIONSHIP!”_

Badeline feels a shockwave of power leave her body.

Madeline is curled up, clenching her head in her hands.

“Madeline?” Badeline says.

Madeline’s form is tense and unresponsive.

“Hey, Maddy?”

“Nnngh…”

Badeline stares at her hands. “…What did I do?”

There is a tense ringing at the front of Badeline’s mind. She realizes this must be what Maddy is feeling.

Madeline blinks it off, slowly lifting her gaze to Badeline. She takes a deep breath, the effects of which linger soothingly over Badeline’s own lungs.

Madeline says, “You really think we’re not ready for another relationship?”

Badeline stares at the floor. “No. You know me – I’m scared of everything. We have it good right now. I don’t want to ruin any of it.”

“You really think we’d cheat on Theo?”

Madeline says it and Badeline flinches. It _hurts._ It hurts to hear _her_ suggest it, because Badeline knows Madeline would have this under control should the situation ever arise. Madeline is too determined, passionate and caring to throw Theo away like that.

_‘I don’t know what I was saying._’

_‘It’s just an intrusive thought. We both know that we’d never do that, because we both know how horrible that would be. But… I guess it doesn’t hurt for the reminder to not do something like that.’_

Badeline grimaces. Maddy is right. Madeline validates a _lot_ of the hurtful things Badeline does…

_She sees my real intentions. She tries to accept my help._

_…I need to be better about trying not to hurt her._

“Badeline,” Madeline says, “is there… another concern with this? We would never hurt Theo and vice versa, but… why else do you think we’re not ready for another relationship?”

_We’d be too far away._

_It would hurt too much._

_We don’t know how to be a good girlfriend—_

“Stop,” Madeline says. “I disagree. I think for Theo of all people we would be a _great_ girlfriend. Seriously, do _you_ see us forgetting to call? We _already _talk all the time—”

_Why the sudden change? How could loving somebody suddenly be easy?_

“Because it’s Theo. He’s not demanding. He’s giving, and gracious, and kind. We _already love him._”

_We’re damaged goods. It’s one thing to have him as a friend. Another to be… dating…_

_…_

_We’ve been… bad… at being a girlfriend._

“Badeline, that was with Devin. He was _constantly_ wearing us down. He made us feel like we weren’t enough – or, I guess like we were… _too much._ He tried to erase you. I don’t think we can definitely say whether or not we were a good or bad girlfriend. It’s more like… the _entire relationship_ was bad.”

Badeline winces.

That pain again, across her mind, piercing like lightning. A solemn ringing in her ears.

“THAT’S WHY WE’RE NOT READY!” Badeline snarls. “I’m scared—I’m too scared! We’re not doing this – we’re _not!_ You can’t handle it – you can’t handle it if—“

“We don’t know what Devin is doing,” Madeline says. “We don’t know if he’s involved in this equation at all! He’s in the past—”

“Can you say that for sure?” Badeline says.

Badeline pushes past Madeline to sit in the computer chair.

“Badeline, what are you—”

_“I NEED TO CHECK SOMETHING.”_

_Something. Anything. Some hint that he’s far, far away from here –_

There’s a reason she and Madeline don’t have an InstaPix. A good, _good_ reason – they’ll check Theo’s, of course, but there’s a reason they don’t use it themselves –

_InstaPix_

_LonelyCurtainCall_

“Badeline,” Madeline says, alarm and faint oncoming panic in her voice—“Badeline, we said we wouldn’t do this—”

“I just need to see. I just need some sign that he isn’t _here_—”

Madeline’s breath draws in. Badeline’s heart clenches tight along with it—

Badeline hits search.

There just needs to be one post. One post, that shows Devin _anywhere_ else. Out with friends. Home in Vancouver. Somewhere, anywhere, ANYWHERE else—

Badeline doesn’t even see any of his posts. They’re _there,_ but she doesn’t see them – her attention sees only the message, the warning, the noose tightening around Madeline’s wellbeing –

_Devin / 26 / gardener, designer, apathetic Dungeon Master_

_Relationship status: I’m coming for you Maddy_

Badeline was right to check.

_‘He’s after us. MADELINE, HE’S AFTER US; WE NEED TO GET AWAY, NOW!’_

“But,” Madeline says, her hands clutched close to her face, her breath shuddering – “but he _can’t_ – he can’t be _here_ – how would he know we’re HERE?!”

“Some way! It doesn’t matter – he’s _officially_ a menace! _DO I NEED TO READ IT OUT LOUD?! WHAT KIND OF PERSON SETS IT AS HIS STATUS—AND LOOK, HE KNOWS IT’S CELESTE! HE KNOWS WHERE WE ARE!”_

His most recent photo is of a Mt. Celeste postcard with some creepy staticky filter over it.

Badeline turns around to look back to Madeline. She needs to talk some sense into her! They’re pulling into reverse and going home _now_ – together, both of them, before Devin finds them. Badeline lets out an exasperated grumble, feeling her hair begin to form tendrils and float upwards behind her. Badeline is getting that angry, _hoarse_ feeling that frustrates her so much – the kind she gets from Madeline (_used_ to get, for a while there, but APPARENTLY still gets).

“You can’t ignore me,” Badeline whispers fiercely.

Madeline isn’t ignoring her. She’s just balled up on the floor. Head between knees. Back still. Hair falling over her face.

Badeline’s chest tightens. She doubles forward, her eyes widening, her own body shutting down. _No!_

_‘Badeline. I can’t breathe.’_

Badeline can’t breathe either. Her hands cover her face. Her knees are rooted to the ground. And her own darkness entrenches the both of them.

Stillness.

The rushing of silence.

The strangling sensation that Badeline can’t remember how to get out of.

_‘The feather._’

Feather. Theo. Confessing. Losing him.

Badeline’s jaw tightens. She can’t do this right now—

_‘Please. Do this with me. I need you.’_

Badeline becomes aware that she is, in fact, gasping. It simply doesn’t hold. The air is like sand falling through her fingers –

Madeline is suffocating too. _How can she think about **anything**_—

_‘Because I need to. And I need you to do this with me. Please. The feather. Theo doesn’t matter, Devin doesn’t matter, for now just think about **me**_—’

Madeline is imagining a violet feather. Badeline winces. So she’s _not_ trying just to survive her, or resist her, or reject her—

_That’s why we’re in this together. That’s why we go through **everything **together, now—_

Badeline doesn’t imagine her own feather. So she just thinks about Madeline’s, and how it’s _her_ color. And she watches it, rising and falling, Badeline contributing _nothing_ to it even though Madeline is just as exhausted as she is—

_‘No. It’s okay. You’re doing plenty. You’re doing good just to focus on me.’_

Badeline feels a twinge of offence but knows it’s true. This is hard for her, right now – of _course_ Madeline can lead this, she’s the one who wants to keep them blazing forward, always –

_And I’m the one trying to hold us back._

But she can identify those times when they both want the same thing. And she wants to survive this. Until they do, they can’t do anything about any of their problems—

_‘This **is** one of our problems. This isn’t wasted effort. Please, stay with me.’_

Badeline is trying, she’s really, _really_ trying—

And then, there is the feather, and nothing else.

It continues to rage around them for close to a minute.

It batters Badeline. Beats her. Presses in close and dark to her ear, her eyes, her mind. Madeline too. Right now, this is the exact same for both of them.

At some point, Badeline’s hand moves of its own accord, and they are no longer so separate at all.

The feather’s fluttering becomes a lazy drift. The screeching horror fades out. Badeline is left lying flat on her back, her chest utterly drained of all strength, and her right hand loosely grasped in Madeline’s left.

Madeline says, “I think we should really get off the floor.”

Badeline is too sore even to float. She shuffles over to the bed and lands face-flat in the comforter.

Madeline gazes up at the ceiling, from where she lay with her hands folded just beneath her head. “You got that right.”

_…She isn’t even angry with me._

Badeline’s fists clench the sheets. Her eyes are starting to well up. And she can’t _take it anymore,_ she needs to _look at Maddy_—

Badeline pulls her face out of the bed and blurts, “Madeline, I’m sorry!”

Madeline draws in a very deep breath, and very slowly lets it out. Her eyes lack focus. “It’s okay. I’m not upset. The stress built up – I should have listened to your concerns. Maybe you’re right. Maybe we should turn back. And you might be right about Theo, too.

Badeline’s posture stiffens. “Why _didn’t_ you listen to me?”

“Honestly? Guilt. I didn’t want to be the reason we turn back. I just want to keep pushing. It’s how I am --- even if it hurts me sometimes. I need you to hold me back. _You_ know when we need to turn around.”

“I’ve been wrong about things, though. What if we _had_ turned around before we ever got to the Summit? What if I’d stopped you so soon – what if you never pushed to the point of understanding me? Then our life wouldn’t have gotten any better.”

“Well then, that’s the thing. Maybe I _am_ right. We don’t know. That’s what makes this so difficult.”

Badeline grumbles. They aren’t making any progress. Madeline just said something so obvious. And yet…

“You’re so wise sometimes,” Badeline confesses. “You know exactly how to describe what we’re going through. And I’m… just me, here to hold you back.”

Madeline starts shaking her head. “We’re both the same bumbling person. We’ve made a lot of bad life choices together. You can’t just think of yourself as everything I’m not, because we’re just _us._ I’m not some vibrant ray of warmth and light while you’re a toad skulking in the shadows.”

_So she doesn’t see me as a burden._

Badeline finally sits up just as Madeline does.

“I can’t believe I just started ignoring you again,” Madeline says. “Like it’d fix _anything._”

Badeline sees Madeline’s face and gasps. For every tear that seeps down her own cheek, there is a parallel in her reflection. Badeline’s left, Madeline’s right – connected, symmetrical, instantaneous.

“We’ll be safe for the evening,” Badeline says. “We’ll decide what _really_ to do when we wake up in the morning.”

Madeline nods. Badeline can tell she likes this plan. As weary as she is, and as hesitant as she is to go home potentially soon… for now, at least, all is well.

“We don’t have to be upset with each other,” Madeline says. “Or ourselves. We can end the day on a happy note.”

Badeline is nodding, but all she can think about is sleep.

“Will you braid my hair?”

Badeline is jarred. It’s like a bolt of lightning through her shoulders – _“What?”_

“I said, will you braid my hair? I know we’re both tired. But this is our first slumber party. And it’s always something we’ve wanted to do.”

“Uh… _UH_…”

Madeline giggles. Badeline _knows_ that look. It’s the one she gives her when she knows, truly, Badeline is not about to say no to this.

Badeline sighs. But it’s not irritation anymore, or even weariness – it’s a sound of relief, as she settles in to something quieter, something at _last_ restful.

“Go get a hair tie,” Badeline says, as she edges with Madeline towards the foot of the bed, where they can both see across to their reflections in the room’s mirror. Badeline is frazzled and spent; Madeline has a manic perkiness about her, from her bright eyes to her eager smile. _I don’t care what she says. She IS this ball of radiant sunshine and warmth and determination. And she **needs** a sulky shadow like me to temper her!_

Madeline immediately fishes a hair tie out of her pocket. Her smile is unbreakable. She laughs when Badeline’s nails run down the length of her hair. “That feels good!”

“Madeline, it is SO past your bedtime.”

“And yours!”

Badeline snorts. Why are they like this when they’re together? Madeline keeps messing with her and japing her and staying awake longer than she should, just because she knows Badeline is floating after her, worrying over her –

“Hey. Hey, Badeline. What about that time you tickled me half to death?”

Badeline glances away. Okay. So maybe she messes with Madeline more than Madeline messes with her…

Badeline still is working the tangles out of Madeline’s orange tresses. Even though her hair gets matted from snow-melt, and tangled from gentle fluttering winds, and unwashable save by the most intense of shampoos, Badeline wouldn’t trade it for anything shorter. It is _grand,_ it is _heroic,_ it is… cute. Really pretty cute and kind of magical. She gets a lot of haircuts to maintain that layered, windswept appearance and keep it from getting longer than she can manage, but that’s exactly what her secret is. When they keep up their hairstyle, no other possibility holds a candle to what one can do with body-length sunset-warm hair. It’s a miracle of genetics and a worthy use of the time and money they put into it.

Badeline works deftly. One segment, then another – she’s done this loads of times before, but never stopped to think how much easier it would be when they weren’t fused. In the mirror in front of them, she catches a glimpse of Madeline with eyes closed and arms folded loosely. It’s like she’s been transported to another world.

_If she can do that, that’s fine by me._

_‘I’m right here. Why would I want to be anywhere else when I have you protecting me?’_

_‘…MADELINE. I—am I really so heroic?’_

_‘Of course you are. You’re my hero forever!’_

That sounds like too much anime. And not enough sleep. Obvious aftershocks of a panic attack.

One strand over the other over the other. Badeline works her way down. This is one single huge braid – nothing fancy. Just something that Madeline happened to want.

Badeline ties the hair band. Madeline immediately grabs the braid and holds it before her, beaming, examining it from different angles as though she has never worn her hair in this exact braid hundreds of times before.

Badeline smiles. “Glad you like it.”

“Like it? I love it! This is the best slumber party ever!”

Badeline finds herself being tackled to the mattress, with Madeline’s arms catching around her back just before Badeline’s head hits the pillow.

Everything is warm. Everything is perfect. And Madeline… Madeline is _exuberant. _Badeline realizes that Madeline likes her more than they collectively like Theo.

_That means we’re unstoppable! Nobody can ever get between us again!_

Madeline nuzzles her forehead to Badeline’s. “Thank you! Thank you, thank you, I’m tired!”

“Hi, Tired,” Badeline deadpans. _“I’m you.”_

Madeline cackles.

Madeline wakes up. Something’s different. …How was last night, again? Where _is_ she?

Madeline blinks. Warm. She feels warm, and nervous, and—

_Whole! I’m **whole**!_

In the mirror is a halo of pink hair – half braided, half unbraided. The loose strands are drifting and floating with magic. Madeline’s heartbeat is tapping that giddy, quick pace that she associates with boundless, hyper energy, tempered only by knowing restraint and sound judgment. Madeline clenches a fistful of air. _Score!_

Devin.

And just like that, Badeline is launched from her body and left a dizzy mess trying to blink herself awake.

“Woops?” Madeline says, peering over to her.

Badeline groans and rubs at her forehead. “I’m alright. …Maddy? You’re… you’re staring.”

Madeline is _transfixed!_ “Badeline, _look at yourself in the mirror right now!”_

Badeline doesn’t fully get up, but she rolls onto her stomach and crawls forward. “My—_my_ hair?!”

Badeline’s hair creeps with energy, floating with her mood, but—now there’s a red streak in her bangs, and another over her shoulder!

“Oh no. No no no – this _clashes_!”

“I promise we can go ahead and dye it _all_ purple when we get home. Then it won’t clash our wardrobe anymore. But you see what this means? We fused in our sleep and now you look more like me. We’ve still got it in us, and you’re closer to me than ever before!”

Madeline watches Badeline’s expression change from panic to mere gawking.

“…Hey,” Badeline says, at last.

“Hm?”

“I think… I think I want for us to keep going. Not because of guilt. That was the wrong reason. …I genuinely want Theo to see the Summit, and… and I think we can genuinely do it. If we stick together and there’s three of us… and if I _know_ I won’t ever let you fall into his clutches again… what could Devin ever do to stop us?”

Madeline again does that thing where she pumps her fist in the air. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes, _yes!”_

Badeline stares meekly down at the floor, but her cheeks are pushed upwards from her smile.

“I won’t let you fall into his clutches either,” Madeline promises. _“Never again.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do you guys KNOW how hard it was to figure out a name for maddy's ex? so first i was thinking J names and then I was thinking Q names because all i knew was there had to be some weird letter in there but every j or q name just sounded too eccentric BUT THEN i woke up at 4 am with the name DEVIN stuck in my head, a name that i had NEVER THOUGHT OF BEFORE IN MY LIFE and had no discernable reason for even being present in my mind. and i just had to make sure i rememberred that when i woke up for real yeah  
this is what being a writer is like


	4. Nothing Left to Say

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmmmmmmmmmmmmm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxp2ryEgLpU (language warning. also, content warning for extremely stupid humor)  
Also, heads up that this fic will start referencing some of my one-shots pretty soon (I decided they're all same continuity), so go catch up on those if you think it'd contribute to your enjoyment of this fic ^-^

They come to Golden Ridge, and the sun breaks sharply over the landscape. Ambiance settles over Madeline. She takes a moment simply to stare and wonder.

And then the restlessness comes over her.

"Badeline," she says, suddenly grabbing her reflection by the arm. "Badel. Badel."

Badeline seizes up, looking alarmed, but says in a flat tone, "…yeah?"

Madeline bonks her forehead against Badeline's. Once, twice. "I wanna be whole."

"Oh," Badeline says. She takes Madeline into her arms. "Yeah, me too."

"Get IN my head. Get IN my head NOW."

Theo raises a sly brow. "You are AT the HOSPITAL."

Madeline blinks. She hadn't expected him to get that reference. Madeline generally says these things out loud only because Badeline is there, and she can actually express the in-jokes she has with herself.

Madeline says it again. "Get IN my car, now."

Badeline shrugs. "I don't know where I am?"

She's trying to feign actual confusion. It's interrupted by the smile breaking across her face. Silent chuckle. Affectionate eye-roll.

"Get IN my car!"

Badeline cracks and starts laughing openly. "That's so stupid! It's STUPID that it fits!"

"Yeah, well. Alright, Theo, this is how you know that stuff's starting to get to me. I break down into a walking meme and keep whining to Badeline since I can't fuse with her right now."

"Huh. I guess I never thought that's a situation you'd get into -- I mean, the first time you accepted Badeline, fusing was super easy, right?"

"She didn't know what was going on at first," Badeline says. "But I had no trouble at all crawling inside her head once she opened the door."

Theo frowns, and there briefly is a desolate look in his eyes.

"I'm-- wow, it really is the Devin situation, huh? I just-- agh, the guy-- it must be really bad, if it can disrupt you."

Theo softly clenches a fist.

Badeline places a hand over her mouth. _'That's new.'_

Madeline takes a deep breath. Theo's forgetting something. That, or he's deliberately not mentioned it -- that this trouble didn't _start_ with her discovery last night that Devin is stalking her.

Badeline is over on a ledge several feet away. _How'd she get over there so quickly? _Arms crossed, hair fluttering in the wind --

Badeline's shoulder twitches. _'Theo isn't dumb.'_

Madeline knows this. She knows this and it hurts. It hurts that she's hiding _anything_ from Theo -- but what would he say if he knew? Would Madeline lose him forever?

"It's been awhile since we've been here," Madeline says. "That time we were staying with Granny, we usually didn't come up much farther than this.

Badeline concurs but doesn't say anything.

Madeline is left looking out calmly at a field of soft snow and fluttering winds. It looks so quiet, still and _complete_ here… there are rocky outcroppings above, and dangerous hollows to traverse, Madeline understands, but _here_ everything feels safe, serene, an ocean of solitude basked in sunrise gold. It reminds her of being whole.

_I don't want to be unfused forever. This isn't how we're meant to be._

Madeline hears a quiet giggle. She is aware of Badeline constantly floating behind her, usually within just a few inches of bumping her arm. But something about _just now_ makes Madeline's skin crawl with confused anticipation…

Hands connect with her shoulders._ Shove._

"AAH!" Madeline yells, her arms flailing out to salvage her balance. It isn't enough.

_Crunch._ Madeline lands in a bed of snow. Cold stings her face. She pulls herself upright, groaning, her heart still tapping out a quickened beat.

"Madeline!" Theo yells. Madeline sees him looking down from where she'd been standing moments ago.

Badeline cackles, but at the same time lets some of her hair curl over to partly hide her face. "I can't believe I just did that!"

"You'd better help me get back up there," Madeline says, crossing her arms.   
Badeline leaps from the ledge, and gracefully, one leg extended and the other folded, with her arms stretched out behind her -- _she is so anime_ \-- lands deftly beside Madeline, and--

Madeline yelps, as she is swept into Badeline's arms, and--

_"Yeet,"_ Badeline deadpans.

Madeline has no time to react. Her clumsy arms hit the ledge, and she has just enough strength to cling to it and pull herself back up.

"She said it," Theo says. "She said the thing!"

"Yes. I said the thing."

"Well," Madeline says, "I guess _that's_ something we can still do."

"What can I say?" Badeline shrugs. "I'm something else."

"Why can't we float when we're fused?"

_"What?"_

"We sort of can. At least, we can do _some_ lighter-than-air stuff. But why can't we float like you?"

Badeline blinks. She pulls despondently at her hair. "I… I don't know."

"Are _you_ more magical than _us?_ It doesn't make sense to me, but I guess I dilute things? Or it could just be the, uh, _demon doppelganger _thing?" Madeline asks. What _is_ Badeline, anyways? They've wondered about it a little, but honestly, Madeline has spent more time just _hanging out_ with her so she doesn't entirely know--

"Uh," Badeline says. She is shying away, some uneasy tension in her lowered head--

"Badeline?" Madeline asks.

"Hey," Theo says suddenly. "You two come look at this."

Madeline glances over. Theo has turned his body to inspect a sign, but he quickly looks back to Madeline with concern in his eyes.

Theo says, "I think this is fresh."

He moves aside, and shows Madeline a set of initials encircled by a heart.

_DS + MB_

Madeline wraps an arm over her stomach. Spikes of queasy anxiety rush down her system. Long nails are clenching her shoulders, and a wave of iciness washes over her from behind --

_Think about the feather,_ Madeline reminds herself, and the world takes a soft focus behind her vision of a soft, fluttering feather.

Madeline's anxiety goes quiet.

_Already_? Madeline wonders. She turns around. Badeline is sitting cross-legged, a bored expression in her gaze, but she doesn't seem insulted.

"We want Theo to reach the summit," Badeline mutters. Madeline nods. She remembers.

"There's three of us. I have you protecting me. Like a guardian… well, I guess not a guardian _angel.._."

"How about a guardian _demon_?" Theo says.

Badeline huffs and glances away. Madeline gasps. _That's it!_

But just as Madeline is about to say something, a snowball dashes to smithereens against Theo's discovery, ending the conversation.

Madeline looks over. Badeline still stands with her throwing arm outstretched, and her hair beginning to scoop up another pile of snow. Her eyes flash red.

"Woah, hey," Theo says to her. "I was about to fix it."

"What could you _possibly_ do to fix _that?_"

"Hey. I'm a master of image manipulation. Even _this_ kind. Here… let's start by getting rid of the bad."

Theo quickly has out a pocketknife. A fine one, the kind you get as a quality Christmas gift or inherit from a relative. The bark is rough, but Theo very quickly scores out Devin's initials but leaves Madeline's alone. As an afterthought, he scrapes off the orphaned plus sign.

Badeline snorts. "As if he's coming back here to check."

"This isn't for him. I'm fixing it for _us._"

Theo's voice again loses its laxness. He seems tense in his posture, raising his shoulders as he has his back turned to Madeline, still working at the bark--

Madeline gets close enough to peer upwards just in time to see him finish _\+ BB._

"That's cute," Madeline says. Badeline snorts.

"Yeah, yeah. I know your name is technically Madeline too. But you're Badeline around _us._" Theo keeps scraping into the bark; he has left the outline of Devin's cruel heart, but it's still legible when he adds _\+ TR._

"Ugh. What will this look like to anyone who comes through here?"

"I'm working on it. They'll probably assume it's more of a family thing, but just to be safe…"

_BFFs._

Madeline laughs, her arms clamping over her stomach.

Theo glances fondly down at her, and then apologetically over at Badeline. "Thoughts?"

"It's perfect," Badeline says.

"Are you going to add a _4ever_ just to be sure?" Madeline says.

"Best friends forever, forever? That's a layer of friendship I'm not sure I'm ready for. I kid, I kid. We're already _BFFFs_ forever. Especially here, at Celeste Mountain."

"Especially to me," Madeline says. "_Us."_

"Especially to you_,_ I'm sure. I know you're all still you when we _leave_ the Mountain, but it's more fun and chaotic this way."

"Normal life is good," Madeline says, throwing her arms wide. "We're much better than we were. Badeline _likes_ being a part of me!"

Badeline isn't looking at them.

"Hey," Madeline says, kneeling. "How are you feeling?"

Badeline's head whips around to reveal an acidic glare. _'Very, very nervous and… scared.'_

"I'm sure Theo would hold us up on his offer. We could turn back if we really wanted to."

"NO! I want Theo to see the Summit!"

"I _do_ want to see the Summit," Theo says. "But, uh… what's the worst thing that could happen, and how well prepared are we for it? You think Devin would try anything aggro?"

"There's no telling _what_ Devin would do," Madeline says.

"Kidnap us. Assault us. Harass us until we feel guilted to say yes."

"_No_," Madeline says. "…To the last one, that is. That one isn't happening. I'm _not_ handing myself back over to him and abandoning you."

Badeline chuckles, but there is dry fear underneath her mirth. "You know what's right. Since you've got me covered, how about we agree that I clock him out if he tries either of the others?"

"You think he would?"

"Sure. Why not. We haven't seen the dude in ages. We don't know how his mind works -- or how he's getting by without us. If he's vengeful… watch me _go._ I don't like being in this situation, but I'll tear him apart if it gets any worse."

"But I don't want you to get hurt."

"Maddy. Darling. I work _differently."_ Badeline shrugs as she rises off the ground. Her hair rises up as a halo of darkness. "Only _you_ are capable of hurting me directly. You have a lot of power over me, and I have a lot of power over you -- but the Mountain gives so much to me that I could probably shrug off Devin pretty easily."

"You sure?"

"I don't get random scrapes here! I'm good if you're good, I rest if you rest -- unless I'm hurt _by_ you, or worn out by you, I'll be totally fine. I could imagine dying in a _dramatic death_ in one place while you get away… and then materializing moments later by your side. We belong together -- you can't just get rid of one of us! _I AM IMMORTAL!_"

"Glad you are," Madeline supposes. "The only one who can hurt you is me… therefore, the only one who can hurt _me_ is me… that gives me a lot of perspective."

"And me," Badeline says.

"Hey, Maddy," Theo says, fidgeting with the straps of his backpack. There is an attentive spark in his brown eyes, however. "I… do have another supposal. Now, this is just a random thought, mind you… but Devin sounds like a real douchebag."

There's just something so magical about hearing _Theo_ say it.

Badeline is nodding rabidly. Madeline shrugs, grinning.

"In fact, I bet we could say _worse_ things about him. He seems like kind of an incel. You know, wants to be controlling of a woman, wants to treat you as his property, et cetera?"

Madeline's grin fades but she's still shrugging. Maybe? Devin was _awful_ to her, but it was more like he was obsessed with _her_ as a person than acting generally entitled to _some_ woman he could claim as his miserable girlfriend…

"Well, okay. So maybe he's just toxic. But he wouldn't take no for an answer, and Madeline, you _know_ that these kinds of guys… well. There's a kind of guy that is _really_ scummy, and would only be discouraged by _one thing._"

Madeline is confused, and feels flustered, and… goodness, what _is_ Theo getting close to?

"Spit it out," Badeline says.

"Madeline, and by extension, Badeline." Theo gets down on one knee. "I hereby extend to you the offer… of me being your fake boyfriend, for the sake of warding off the douchebag incel Devin. This offer includes any level of PDAs up to and including passionate hugging. Results not guaranteed. The recipient is free to decline, in which case we go directly to the plan of Badeline punching Devin in the face and throwing him off the side of the mountain."

Madeline is in shock.

Devin. _DEVIN--_

No. Not Devin. Theo. Theo offering to be her _fake_ boyfriend.

Madeline covers her mouth. She wants to rejoice. She wants to believe this is _real _and not just a protective measure.

"Sounds kind of fanfictiony to me," Badeline remarks.

"Where do you think I got the idea? Kidding, kidding. Maybe. I understand if you oppose it on principle. But the fact that remains is that men who don't listen to women sometimes listen to other men, under the assumption that other men are just as possessive and insecure as they are. I've stepped in for some of Alex's friends before."

"Really?" Madeline asks.

"Really. No commitment, no catch. If he won't listen to you, then I've got beef with him anyways. Let me do this for you. …I mean, just so long as you're comfortable with the idea of it, of course."

_'Should we?'_ Madeline asks Badeline, who is floating pensively before Theo. Something about her seems captivated.

Badeline shoots her stare back at Madeline. _'Should we? MADELINE, YOU FOOL! OF COURSE! YES, YES, YES--'_

"I'm not going to be offended if you say no," Theo says.

"Well, we say yes," Madeline says. "We'll take all the protection we can get!"

"Really? Oh, hey, that's awesome! I mean, we're officially fake dating now. So, what's the plan -- if he shows up, I put an arm around you all casual, and shoot him my best _this my girl_ look? A guy like him would know the one."

"Perfect," Badeline says. "That's one more protection we have."

"And we were roommates," Madeline says.

"Oh my God," Badeline says, "you were roommates."

Madeline wants to talk about it. She really does.

But Badeline seems to have gone into sulking. Madeline tries to tap into her thoughts, repeatedly. But she doesn't make it in-- and what's worse, the dejection seeps out into _her,_ too.

Theo is joking around. Madeline knows he's trying to lift their spirits. But he doesn't know everything that's wrong. He knows about Devin. But he doesn't know about how Badeline feels right now, and he doesn't know about their feelings for _him._ Theo has made it clear, many times, that he'll be Madeline's friend for life, but he doesn't know about the one thing that could chase him away.

_I'm sure we'd date at some point. Even if he doesn't say yes when we first confess._

_…Right?_

Badeline is a wall of ice. Madeline gazes mournfully at her shut-down demeanor. She walks now, her feet planted firmly on the ground, her hair drooping and yet humming faintly with static.

Madeline sighs. That was a pathetic attempt and she knew it. There's no point in talking like that-- she'd never be the kind of person to hassle Theo if he says no. If she did that, she wouldn't even be worthy of being his _friend._

She has something more imminent to worry about. Her relationship with _herself._ She doesn't need Badeline to shut down right now.

_'Just talk to me. I didn't know that word bothered you so much.'_

Badeline won't answer.

Badeline is still helping her. She gives her a boost from behind. She leans down from a high place, to offer Theo her hand. Madeline watches them, and she watches Theo's warm smile melt across his face, his eyes glinting with fondness, but--

_Oh, Theo. How can I tell you, it won't make any difference until we talk about it?_

But they're heading up a dangerous passage now. They need to be quiet for just a little while-- quiet, and focus. It's safe if they do it together, and keep their attention on the route, but--

_Oh, Badeline… we need to talk!_

Madeline's muscles hurt.

She sits down with a sigh. That was _hard_! She needs to keep in better shape…

To her surprise, Badeline immediately sits down and leans against her. Madeline looks over. There is hurt inflicted on her face, but also mere blunt weariness. Her hair is fidgeting, some of it snaking around Madeline's arm.

"You ready to talk about stuff?" Madeline asks.

Badeline's body becomes a heavier weight slumped against Madeline's side. "You already know what's wrong."

"Yeah, but-- we can _talk_ about it. You don't have to just put up with stuff like this anymore-- we've been through this before, we should open up."

"What does it matter?" Badeline asks. "It doesn't _change_ anything--"

"It _would._"

"It wouldn't change the truth! I am what I am-- and if I'm hurt by it, it just shows that I'm thin-skinned." Badeline clamps her hands over her head. "I'm weak and easily offended. That's it. That's all the problem is."

"Hey," Theo says, looking back at them. "You two-- uh, need to talk about something in private?"

Badeline huffs, letting her head sink further down between her shoulders--

"No," Madeline says quickly. "This concerns all three of us."

_"NO!"_

Theo had been grabbing some of his stuff and turning away. But now he is fully focused on Badeline, with concern in his frown, and horror in his eyes.

_'You'll freak out, it isn't so bad, please, we're going to hurt his feelings! I don't want him to feel guilty-- I swear it's _ ** _not a big deal--_ ** _'_

"It _is_ a big deal if you're hurt by it," Madeline says. "We shouldn't have to listen to things that make us think less of us."

"Woah," Theo says. Madeline notices that he has a hand resting over his heart; and there, in his voice -- a quiet tremble, a slow dawning realization. "Oh, my God… what did I say?"

Badeline shies away.

Madeline says, "I said it too, for the longest time. …She doesn't like being called a demon."

"She doesn't?! Oh, my God, Badeline, I am so _sorry!_"

"Don't mention anything about it!" Badeline snaps, finally pulling her face from her arms to reveal the tears blubbering down her cheeks. "I don't see the point in anybody _not_ calling me that. It's what I _am!"_

"It really isn't. I called you that when I was _scared_ of you. It's something that I made you out to be -- something you looked like _only_ because of how I ignored you for so long. But now it's obvious it isn't you at all!"

"How much did I say it?" Theo asks. "I swear I wasn't even-- gosh, I say things -- stuff slips out! I'm an idiot!"

"I called her that too," Madeline says. "And we don't say it _all_ the time… but it's added up."

_"It doesn't matter how I feel!"_

"Of course it does," Theo says.

Madeline blinks. She was about to go over and hug Badeline -- but Theo is doing it first! He is stooped over, with Badeline pulled tightly into his arms. Madeline catches a glimpse of Badeline's swollen eyes just before Badeline tucks her head into Theo's chest.

Madeline stands there. She takes a deep breath. She feels it too. A flustered, fragile emotion that warms her skin.

"You're not some devil out of Hell," Theo says.

Madeline goes and sits by them. "You're just my negative emotions. You're not evil."

Badeline's head reappears. "What about the times I'm scary, or mean? What am I then?"

"When you protect me… it looks scary. And sometimes you look scary for fun_._ But you know where the line is. You know I like being messed with. But _I _was mean to you a long time for you trying to protect me, and… I don't want you to have to feel that way anymore! You're me, and I'm not scared of you!"

Badeline broadcasts skepticism from the side-eyed glance she gives Madeline -- but something about her self-loathing softens.

"I shouldn't be offended by how you treated me then," Badeline mutters. "I enjoyed it! For a while, _I liked being a demon!_"

"You can take it back now," Madeline says. "Even if it's only just now that you decide you don't like it. You know my boundaries. I should know about yours."

Badeline gasps and hides her face in her hands.

_Was that the wrong thing to say?_

But then Badeline peels from Theo's hold, and her arms are crushing Madeline around the waist. Madeline gasps for air, and catches a glimpse of a tearful, relieved face just before Badeline locks her head over her shoulder. "I'm glad! I'm so glad it doesn't bother you-- I'm glad it's not a big deal for you to call me other things!"

"Woah!" Madeline squeaks, fumbling until her arms catch around Badeline's back-- "Of course it's no big deal -- there's plenty of other things to call you!"

_Part of me, my reflection, goth me, Baddy. _

"Theo doesn't mind either," Madeline says. "He's a good person--"

"I'm sorry. I chased away the bad people for so long, I forgot what the good ones looked like--"

"Well," Madeline says. "Now we can get used to looking at them."

_Theo. Alex. Our own self._

Madeline suddenly finds herself hugging empty air. Soft white light melts into her arms as renewed energy rushes into her skin, her muscles, her _bones_. And, even though it doesn't fix all of her problems (it never did), Madeline still feels it. She has become whole.

Madeline cracks her knuckles and punches the air a few times.

"_Hey_, Ultra-Madeline," Theo says. "I knew you could still do it!"

Madeline feels herself basking in his admiration. This feels good on its own, but getting to show off in front of Theo? Even better. Sometimes she forgets exactly how much he appreciates her.

Madeline's knee jabs the air and she follows it up with a swift kick, like she's practicing for some kind of fighting game. Really, she's not warming up for anything -- she just has to do something with this flood of energy. Even so, familiar nervousness creeps over her. There are anxieties she lets back in every time she does this…

The fears are real. The fear about Devin is real. The fear about Theo is real.

But when she's like this, she feels like she could do _anything!_ Why bother unfusing?

Well, okay. So she'll need to be careful. She'll ALWAYS need to be careful. This is a scary place. And a scary time.

_But I'm fake dating Theo!_

Madeline starts laughing.

"Woah there," Theo says, grinning. "You okay? Overwhelmed by the _good_?"

"Nah," Maddy says. She's just nervous. Antsy. What if she can't keep it together for long? But she's not a demon, no part of her is evil, and she doesn't need to cover up the worry with empty reassurances any longer.

Madeline, still laughing, grabs a lock of pink hair and holds it close to her face. She's her, _all_ of her, and she knows what to do, about _everything_! Wait and see about Theo. Wait and see about Devin.

Madeline hears footsteps echoing up from the path below them. She wonders who that is. She hasn't seen Granny yet on this trip, it's probably her--

Theo looks grave. Madeline wonders what's wrong.

Theo's arm clamps over Madeline's shoulders. A chill runs down Madeline's spine. And, suddenly, she knows _exactly_ who it is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CLIFFHANGER!


	5. 'Til All My Sleeves are Stained Red, from the Truth That I've Said

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized I have missed a huge opportunity last chapter. I thought it would be cute to have Madeline's last initial be B. But I should have had it be C so her unrevealed last name in this fic could plausibly be Celeste, and it would just go unsaid this entire fic that she really could be Madeline Celeste. But I missed that opportunity sooooo I guess I could go BACK and change it or I could just leave it forever, for the benefit of everyone who's already read this far.  
On that note, I've decided I probably won't reveal their last names, mainly because… initials are enough for the scene, and I can't actually decide on anything more specific. I do figure that Madeline would have whatever a typical Canadian surname is, and that Theo's last name would reflect his heritage, so that's pretty much it!  
Now that I've had the very-non-plot-relevant ramble about Madeline not getting to be Madeline Celeste, I'm done, cliffhanger over!
> 
> NOTE: Ugh it looks like the formatting ate italics, I've tried a few times to fix it but can't work it out. Sorry!

It's been a very long time since Madeline has seen Devin.

It's only been a year since they've last called. But it has definitely been longer since she's seen him in person.

Madeline's eyes lock on him. He is a tall, lanky figure dressed in loose clothes: snow pants that cut a clean silhouette, a jacket that hangs straight down. He is all slickness and sharp angles, a character out of a Gorillaz video. His bangs are swept over his face - Madeline would expect to see empty eye sockets beneath them, if she'd listened to her worst nightmares.

He looks up and parts his hair. Twin beacons of blue shine out at Madeline.

WELL OKAY.

He's like… me?

"Madeline," Devin rasps. His voice does not sound unused. Rather, it sounds desperate for something, in a way that pulls on Madeline's emotions, beckoning her to come back and help him-

Theo's arm is clamped tight around Madeline's shoulders. She wonders if he's glaring.

"Devin," Madeline says, trying to sound as surprised as she can, like she didn't have a chance to check his page, like she didn't see the writing on the tree. "Fancy meeting you here!"

"Madeline. Darling. You been getting along fine without me?"

HOW DARE HE?

Hey, hey. He's just… okay, so he's bad.

Really bad.

Madeline says seamlessly, "I'm doing great. My boyfriend and I are having a wonderful time here. Devin, meet Theo."

"Charmed," Theo says, with boldness in his tall stance, but the hint of a tremble in his voice.

"Ah. I see how it is," Devin says

Then Devin's hiking stick scrapes the ground, and he lets it fall by his side. Madeline doesn't know what he's doing. He seizes his hair with both hands to slick it away-

His green locks ruffle backwards, exposing raw streaks of cyan- it's so bright, it reminds Madeline of a fictional substance called Lifeblood, from a game she's been playing called Hollow Knight-

Madeline realizes it. His hair is glowing too.

Oookay.

Devin smacks his tongue inside of his mouth and lets his bangs fall back over his eyes. "Anyways. Guess I should get back to hiking."

He stoops, and grabs his stick, and leaves the clearing. Madeline stares after him.

Theo's arm is still around her. It feels good. And she got to call him her boyfriend.

"Hey," Theo says. He has fallen very, very quiet. "You… how you doin'?"

Madeline takes a deep breath. Her heartbeat is very, very quick…

The feather.

The feather is right here. She's safe. Devin left, she's safe-

Madeline pants, trying to focus on Theo's warmth. This will pass, it has to…

There's a convulsing feeling down in her stomach, and then Madeline screams as her body is ruptured in two.

Madeline groans. It still hurts. Unfusing has never felt like that before.

A rush of violet settles, and Badeline's form is hovering over Madeline's face. "You need to be more careful. I thought you were close to conversing with him!"

"I wasn't going to," Madeline says. "Well. So I won't so long as I listen to you. Keep up the good work, okay?"

Badeline huffs, crossing her arms, but the anger isn't really there. "…You really mean it?"

"Of course. This is why things are getting better. You're right about so many things."

Badeline sighs, floating down into a sitting position.

"You doing better since the conversation?" Theo asks. "I'm real sorry. I think I was the first person who said demon doppelganger. I just want to apologize for that."

Badeline snorts. "I would have relished that at the time, but both of you are right. Things have changed, and it's okay if I want to change my mind. There's other things you've called me."

"Like adorable goth Madeline?"

Badeline stiffens. Madeline sees her blush deepening.

Madeline whispers, "he meant it."

Badeline glares at her, her lip trembling.

Theo is smiling -- he usually is around them. Calm. Genuine. Takes the edge off. But it doesn't ever convey what exactly he's about to say.

"Hey, Baddy," Theo says. "Can I… hug you?"

Badeline startles and lets out a tiny yelp.

Madeline giggles. Go on. Go for it.

Theo stoops down, and Madeline sees Badeline disappear, save for tendrils of her hair that leak out above and below Theo's flannel sleeves.

Madeline's heart leaps. That's so cute!

'Shut up. Wait, no. Fine, I admit it! I'm cute! I'm okay with being cute!'

Madeline laughs, pressing her hands against her cheeks to smoosh them. Badeline is still buried in Theo-hug.

'MADELINE HIS FLANNEL IS SO SOFT--'

'I KNOW! I KNOW!!'

Finally Theo lets go. Badeline is blushing intensely.

"I NEEDED THAT," she says stiffly.

Theo laughs. "I'm glad you two put up with me."

Badeline quickly curls herself up into a small ball of affection and embarrassment. Maybe Theo thinks this is normal-bashful Badeline behavior, but she can't hide from Madeline, who knows that this is crush-fulfillment at an agonizing point, the closest they can get to each other without someone going ahead and confessing so they can be together.

'Imagine getting to snuggle him and get kissed by his curly beard and the way he would run his hands down our hair--'

'Stop. STOP.'

'--And having him tell us that he loves us and calling us every day-'

'MADELINE DON'T, I HAVE TO LOOK AT HIM--'

'Okay. I'll stop.'

'…You're right. I WANT TO GET KISSED BY HIS BEARD. And steal one of his stupid flannel shirts because I love him so much. UGH.'

Madeline smiles. 'He had his arm around us. He says he's fake dated other people, but… I think that was genuine.'

Badeline looks up with uncertainty in her tight frown. 'You really think so?'

'Maybe. We'll wait and see.'

Some ways farther up Golden Ridge, Theo sets his stuff down and looks back at Madeline.

"That wasn't just me, right?" he says. "That guy looked like you. He looked strong. Strong like he'd have his own Badeline. Only an actual demon, I bet."

Madeline sees Badeline wince, but it's only for a moment as she catches onto what he actually said. Badeline says, "We felt it. And he saw us \- he knows what we are. Madeline didn't just go and dye her hair pink. He knows that."

They made sure to not follow the track that Devin looked like he was taking. So far, they haven't seen him again. But now he knows…

"He doesn't know that you two are having trouble staying fused," Theo says. "Maybe we don't know his situation -- maybe he doesn't have his own Badeline and he just gets Mountain powers for whatever reason. I don't know. But he knows you're strong right now, and I think there isn't necessarily a downside to that. …I hope that keeps him away."

Madeline squints. "Baddy, are we still having trouble staying fused? We only just unfused because of Devin-"

"And it hurt."

"Okay, so it hasn't done that before. But maybe we'll stay together longer this time."

Badeline blinks slowly before opening up her posture, spreading out her arms and stepping into Madeline's hug.

Madeline closes her eyes. Feeling Badeline breathing down her neck isn't enough - Madeline needs her close right now, as close as possible. The very first time they fused, Madeline wanted to talk to her, but she also wanted to stay together forever - every second they are apart, Madeline is incomplete. Even though she enjoys the shoulder-punches and snowball fights and displays of faint supernatural powers, it's nothing compared to that boundless feeling that hits her when she is entirely herself, with all of her nerve-wracking fears to temper her emotional highs of overconfidence and determination.

Struggling against Badeline had been like getting caught in the web of some supermassive arachnid like Aragog or Shelob. Every move she made was an infliction further against herself, leaving her endlessly tangled in suffocating cobwebs. And ever since the first fusion, that time when cherry petals cascaded around them in that crystal cavern, and Madeline opened her hands and closed them and breathed more clearly than she ever had in her entire life, she knew that she was free from that web for the first time in her entire life. She had reclaimed what was hers.

Madeline squeezes Badeline more tightly, a hand nestled in her hair and an arm wrapped securely around her lower back.

'I think we shouldn't confess.'

Madeline sighs. So THAT'S it.

'I'm here to protect you from yourself.' Badeline shoots a dull glare at her as she's let out of the hug. 'I'm in love with Theo too. But I think you're getting overconfident.'

Madeline shakes her head, feeling her bangs swish across her forehead, as she shoves her hands down in her pockets. This again…

I love him! 'He's dropping hints.'

'It isn't enough.'

Madeline hates to admit it but she's RIGHT-

No. I can't let this tear us apart. This is exactly why we can't fuse right now.

Madeline is wounded and saddened at the same time.

"I'm getting impatient," Madeline says, not as an admonition, but a quiet confession to Theo. "It's wearing on us. We're not meant to be separate for this long."

"Madeline, please don't let the things I say wear on you," Badeline says. "It is hell for me to exist separate from your sunny optimism."

Madeline gestures to Badeline. "Exactly. And I'm having trouble coping with things."

Theo nods understandingly. "So your anxiety, is causing separation, which is causing more anxiety…"

"It hadn't specifically bothered us before," Badeline says, "but then, we didn't used to know what it felt like to be whole."

"Hmm. You know, part of me wishes I could have a similar experience as you. Both of you, the one of you. It must give you really unique perspective."

"Yeah," Madeline says. "We share everything, and I understand perfectly stuff that I otherwise may have denied myself. It helps to be separated from each other a little. During our trip to the Summit together, and also that time we stayed with Granny, we were constantly off and on, but were never apart for this long.

"Hmm. Why do you have to keep making me want my own Badeline, Maddy?"

Madeline laughs. "I'm sure you do! You're just… already a person. Your problems aren't the kind that divide you."

"You get confused by external factors," Badeline says, nodding scientifically at Theo. "The world. Your surroundings. You don't have any instinct that makes you fight yourself."

"I don't-- hey, is this a callout post? Maddy, you okay with this?"

"She's not offended." Badeline's catlike pupils rolling back into her head. "We've been over this. She knows that she was one hundred percent fighting me back then."

"All combat," Madeline concurs. "Fite me 24/7."

Badeline stops floating and leans against Madeline's shoulder. Madeline possessively starts playing with a lock of her hair. At first, Madeline thinks she's reading boredom, but then Badeline says, "There's one more thing that bothers me."

Theo tilts his head. "Oh?"

Badeline takes a deep breath.

"This isn't a problem with either of you, because you couldn't have known, and… I didn't know, until now," Badeline says, her voice quickening. Madeline suddenly looks down, feeling confusion fluttering in her heart - "but- I feel a little bit of… shame, sometimes? …I'm ashamed that I'm a secret."

"From what?" Madeline asks, already knowing the answer.

Madeline talks about Celeste Mountain in only the vaguest terms. She doesn't tell people about the ghost running a hotel, or the ancient temple full of broken mirrors, or what the Mountain has done to her body. All the outside world knows of Badeline is a fragment of a hand on the corner of an InstaPix photo.

Madeline remembers when they were finally leaving.

"No one would ever believe you," Badeline said.

"You're right. So… I guess you're my secret now. I'll come back and see you, okay?"

"I'll be with you  all the time . You can't hide  that from people. But it'll be weird not to talk about what really happened here."

Madeline's family doesn't know much. Madeline has described Celeste as "wonderful" and "magical" to her mom. But it's like in The Cat Returns, when Haru asks her mom if cats can talk, not revealing the extent of what happened to her, and then the mom just thinks it's adorable and precious. Not the worst reaction, but Badeline is so much part of Madeline, and the Mountain has become this obsession that she has to keep coming back to, that it is isolating to not talk about it to anybody but Theo and Granny.

Madeline squints. She has an idea. Maybe it is time to talk about this to somebody else. Somebody who hasn't been here, but has known for a while that there's something - something \- up with Madeline. Madeline says, "She shows up on digital camera, right? You just haven't posted the pictures of her."

"Yeah. I have 'em backed up and everything."

"You reckon she'd show up on video call?" Madeline asks.

"Mountain magic, please be on our side," Madeline says, as Badeline gives her a boost up to the top of a high spire of rock. She can see mist scrolling across the landscape beneath her. It makes shudders run down her spine.

"I'm right behind you," Badeline promises. "And I'm on your side. Always. I promise."

Madeline takes a deep breath. And she lets it out. And she keeps breathing deeply, as she clings to a safe outcropping, waiting for Theo to get up beside her with Badeline's help. There's no wind here. Just warm sunlight, calm snow, and the valleys below. Madeline hopes this means good reception.

"It was really clear here," Theo says. "This is where I posted a batch of pictures when I first came through."

Badeline lifts him up by his hands, and he's soon sitting right beside Madeline. Their backs are safely pressed against a shelf of rock. Baddy floats over to sandwich herself behind them, nesting her head between theirs.

Madeline can feel a nervous breath on her shoulder. She hears the rustling of living hair. Madeline, without saying anything, without even thinking anything, squeezes her hand.

Theo whips out his phone.

Badeline tenses up.

Madeline knows this is the moment of truth. Stuff's about to change in the friend dynamic. This is permanent. She doesn't know what this will look like, but she knows it can never be undone.

Madeline's entire body is shuddering with excitement. She realizes she isn't afraid anymore -- except, maybe, afraid that the call won't be answered.

Alex picks up.

She's THERE. Warm eyes, matte makeup, streak of blue curls, glimpse of a suit jacket. Her eyelids lower into a squint. Excitement turning to confusion.

"Hello?" Alex says. She squints. "Theo, who's this, Madeline's fashion sense? Wait! Oh my gosh, that just slipped out! Oh, my gosh, Madeline, stranger, please forgive me!"

Theo snorts. "Alex?! That's so unlike you!"

"Oh my gosh. That slipped out. Please forget that forever. I was trying to make a joke but- uh- I guess my mind has a thing about getting all the stupidity out of my system by offending people I've just met, outside the context of law school at least, so I screw it up in my own personal life instead of there! HA! …That was an attempt to make myself relatable. But it probably just made me seem awkward and sad. I'm… I'm Alex. Pleased to meet you, and please ignore the miserable first impression."

Badeline smirks. "I know you're Alex. I'm Madeline."

"Wait. Waiiiiiiit…"

"Alex," Theo says, with a certain warmth in his voice that only comes out when he's talking to Alex (and me?). "…All those times around Maddy when I was like wink wink, nudge nudge, magic Mountain goth stuff? That…"

"THAT WAS REAL?!"

Static cuts into Alex's voice. Madeline blinks.

"Woah there, you're peaking," Theo says, "but YES! YES YES YES, LOOK AT HER! SHE'S MADDY'S BEST FRIEND, SHE'S ADORABLE, LOOK AT HER!"

Alex gets closer to the camera. She's wearing a lot of makeup - Madeline must have caught her between classes. It definitely accentuates her widening eyes. "MADDY SHE LOOKS JUST LIKE YOU. IS IT. IS SHE LITERALLY JUST YOUR FASHION SENSE? HOW DOES SHE WORK- OH MY GOSH, DO I GET TO MEET HER?"

"You've met me every time you've met Madeline," Badeline says. "I'm her. I got to get hugged by you, too."

"Aw, no, Maddy, I want to meet her for real!"

Baddy winks. "Then come visit scenic Celeste Mountain."

"AH, WHAT? YOU'RE KIDDING ME! I GOTTA GO THAT FAR? HOLD THE PHONE, I'M GOING TO GRAB MY CAR KEYS!"

"Alex, is that the cafeteria? Aren't people looking at you funny?"

"Yeah, yeah, it doesn't matter, I'll go somewhere private - it's worth it - I'll just tell people I was talking to a friend who does cosplay - still weird, but not as difficult as explaining magic-"

Madeline gags. She hasn't told Alex about wanting to get into cosplay.

"Anyways, is it like a… okay, this is going to sound really embarrassing if you don't know what I'm talking about… but is it like a… shadow clone jutsu type of thing?"

Madeline blinks.

Alex is into anime? …And she's managed to hide it from Madeline for THIS long?

"Nah," Madeline says, beaming. "She's more like my stand!"

"WHAT?! YOU'RE INTO JOJO? AND YOU HAVE A REAL LIFE STAND?!?"

"YES! I KNOW, SHE'S PERFECT!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

They settle down.

"Okay," Madeline says steadily, "the gem fusion analogy is good, because I've thought about that a lot, but if you've ever seen O.K. K.O., the TKO episodes are really closer. …It's sort of our exact situation, in fact."

Madeline and Theo wind up sitting together with Badeline spread out across their laps. She has her arms crossed - not defensively, but smugly, as Alex continues to awe at her, and Madeline continues to answer Alex's questions.

She says that Badeline is a manifestation of her negative emotions. Alex gets it immediately. And she even seems more sympathetic. Her face softens; she smiles very sweetly at Badeline and starts asking her questions directly, yet still softly.

Badeline soaks it up. She's the one to answer a lot of Alex's questions about fusing and unfusing.

"Being unfused for this long… imagine if there wasn't a sun. Everything's dark. And you feel on edge all the time."

Madeline nods. She has Badeline's head cupped in her hands. Badeline is still emotional, and she still cries over stuff, but the way she explains this is really mature. Madeline has been restless as heck, but she starts to wonder if Badeline has it worse right now.

"So… is it fifty-fifty, or…"

Madeline doesn't know. She hadn't thought of that before.

"It's fifty-fifty if you really have to break it down that way," Badeline says, "but honestly, it fluctuates. Sometimes it's mostly me, sometimes it's barely me. We lose the barriers between us when we fuse. It's all over the place. Just for me to exist is conceptually a simplification of what Maddy goes through."

Madeline blinks. How does she know all that?!

They also tell her about Devin. And fake dating.

Alex becomes concerned of the peril Maddy is in, but when that other thing is brought up, she just gets incredulous.

"FAKE DATING?!" she yells, beaming, her face suddenly flooding the screen of Theo's phone. "FAKE DATING?!?"

"Woah there, Alex," Theo says. "It's a good move. It's already made the guy move past us once."

"You're- Theo- you're really- you two?!"

Madeline makes her grumpy frowny face. "Don't tell me he was lying when he said he's done this for people before."

"Oh, no, he wasn't lying. It's… nothing."

Badeline blinks, dismayed, and looks over to Madeline. 'What does this mean?'

'I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe… maybe she can't see us together.'

That thought shoots through Madeline's chest as a sharp pang. She feels a clammy hand cover her own -- Badeline's reassurance. She knows the sentiment. Things won't necessarily work out perfectly. But no matter whatever happens, and no matter whatever Alex thinks, Madeline will always be herself.

"Badeline, you're awesome," Alex says. "But I think I'm going to have to go. I have a class coming up. This settles things, though. I'm coming to y'all's mountain and hanging out with your Stand, Shadow Clone Turbo Goth Maddy."

Madeline nods reluctantly. Time to say goodbye.

"We'll start having Theo take some pictures to share with you," Madeline says, smiling. "He's got a lot already."

"What?! I want to see them! She's so cute!"

"Oh, sis. You don't know the half of it."

"WAIT, NO!" Badeline yells, sitting bolt upright.

Madeline reels. Badeline had been lying down. Does she realize she's just sitting in Theo's lap now?!

Everybody laughs.


	6. No Light, No Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh no

Paf!

Madeline recoils against the ice biting into her skin. She wipes compressed snow off of her cheek with disdain. But she can't say she wasn't entirely expecting it…

"Badeline," she says, turning around with a disappointed smile, "You're getting rusty."

Badeline snorts. "Totally am not. That was perfect!"

"That isn't it. I felt it coming. You can't hide much from me anymore."

They've crested the heights of Golden Ridge and are coming to where it is cold and open. Just beyond them, icy winds hiss through with a distant, howling sound. But, sheltered in the last sunny hollow, with warm spring-waters gushing from crevasses above them, and bright banners and painted signs surrounding them, they have one more idyllic resting place before the next stretch.

"Hey," Theo says, approaching Badeline, and kneeling to whisper something in her ear.

Madeline squints. What is he telling her?

Badeline pulls back and shoots Theo a glare. "You think I would conspire with anyone against Madeline?"

"What? I just wanted to help!" Theo backs away, offering a nervous smile--

"MADELINE. Team up with me against this fiend, that we should together smite him with snowballs!"

Theo loses.

"Wow," Madeline says, catching her breath as she sits with her back slumped against Badeline's. "I guess nobody messes with me but you, huh?"

Madeline feels pressure against her upper back as Badeline sits more upright. She can hear a faint rustling, and sees some locks of Badeline's hair gently creeping over her shoulders -- not imposingly, not overwhelmingly, just moving in to rest on her shoulders and collarbone, like a loose arm just behind her neck, or a silent hand grasping her own.

Badeline says, with a smirk in her voice, "That's one way of putting it."

Theo is knelt by his open backpack, and he's fussing over his beard, trying to undo the barrage of snowballs that had so quickly overwhelmed him.

"I definitely get the message. Nobody messes with Madeline."

Madeline leans forward. "Woah, hey. We didn't mean it like…"

Like what? 

"Pff, don't worry. I know this was just for fun-- I know I'm not like Devin. But I think it demonstrates something."

"Which is?" Badeline asks, but they already know the answer.

"Do I even need to say it? You'd do anything for Madeline! You're incredible!"

Theo stands just beside Madeline. His gaze has gentle concern, focused on the distant clouds.

"Theo?" Madeline asks.

Theo gives her a stony glance. Looking at Madeline, his brow softens, and his crossed arms slacken.

"I'm wondering how Devin could have found you," he says.

Madeline blinks. "I'm sure it's going to be alright. We'll survive him as long as we're together -- Badeline and I. You're here too. We're not vulnerable like we were when he started hurting us."

"Yeah, but-- Maddy, I'm hung up on something. How is he even here?"

"You're right. I haven't figured that out yet. Mr. Oshiro says there's no way he could have accessed the hotel records."

Theo frowns. He glances at his phone and puts it away.

"It's not ruining this," Madeline says. "He's not ruining us."

"Us?" Theo asks.

Madeline panics. Badeline shoots her a frightened glance.

"He's not… tearing Baddy and I, apart again," Madeline says faintly. Theo nods, though there is still suspicion in his gaze.

Madeline sighs. We just need to stay fused! I'm losing my inhibition -- it's dangerous for me to stay like this, I'll slip up and say something, and Badeline won't be able to stop me, and if she's right we'll lose Theo forever--

Badeline isn't saying (thinking) anything, but her hand twitches, and hesitantly reaches for Madeline's.

Madeline's heart skips a beat. They're holding hands! They don't do that very often-- and Badeline's hand is warm! 'Cute!'

'Shut up. SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP-'

'You don't mean that-'

Madeline is met by a red-eyed glare in the face. But up close, Madeline can see how dull the ferocity is, and that there still is the flustered blush that plagues Badeline any time that Madeline acknowledges her so directly.

Badeline's pupil moves. Madeline looks over just in time to see Theo scamper away, phone in hand.

Madeline lets out a burst of laughter. "Start sending me these! I want to see them!"

Badeline looks away. "No no no--"

And then she falls silent, uncharacteristically soon.

Madeline blinks. Before she sees anyone, her heart is clenched by claws of ice.

"I knew you had a demon of your own," Devin rasps.

The world around her stops.

Madeline is conscious of little. Badeline's hand warm and soft in her own. The gentle fall of snow. The stillness that pervades the area. Theo frightened on the sidelines. Devin's forlorn stare. That emptiness of light radiating from his eyes.

Fumbling arms press over Madeline's shoulders. Badeline is looking at Devin while trying to fuse again, Madeline can tell. Madeline's gut wrenches and her limbs feel weak. She needs to be whole now more than ever.

"Still a little trouble getting along?"

Devin says it and he smirks. He flashes fangs, and there runs a chill down Madeline's spine.

"Leave. Maddy. Alone," Theo says.

Madeline instantly knows he's screwed.

Devin's glee falters. His posture drops as he starts to lumber in close. "What? What kind of guy do you think I am-- I'm just saying hi to Maddy, and that we're not so different, after all!"

"I think," Badeline hisses, "that we're more different than you would ever believe."

Devin's head whips around. "So she speaks! I wasn't expecting her to be verbal \-- my, you're really divided, Maddy. I wouldn't blame you, though. It's hard, learning to control it. Suppress it. Subjugate it, to being part of you, and not the other way around."

Devin pulls up the sleeve of his jacket and throws off a glove, and Madeline sees his condition.

Effervescent spikes like glowing pine needles run the entire length of his arm, every inch of his skin. They are darker green at the base, attached with scablike roots. Madeline catches glimpse of a black vein.

"You see," Devin croons, "I've already slain my demon. I took the good in it -- the rest is gone. Its power is mine. I'm the best me I can be."

Madeline's pupil darts to the side of Devin. She sees Theo behind him, his jaw dropped in terror.

"That isn't what I think of her," Madeline says.

She takes hold of Badeline's hand again. No more loose and fluffy, but tight, interwoven, determined.

"I made a promise to her," Madeline says. "A promise not to hurt her ever again."

Devin tilts his head. "Really? That's a shame-- you always were too sympathetic. Like this, she's… Well. I think you'd look better apart."

"Who asked you what you thought?!" Theo bellows.

Devin whirls around. "Hey. Do you ever shut up?"

"I'm about done here," Badeline says. "I think I'll take my Madeline, and my Theo, and be on our way."

Devin whirls back. He is close to her -- very, very close. He prowls one step nearer, bound by fascination and satisfaction. "It… it speaks for you? Why, Madeline -- that's hilarious!"

Madeline opens her mouth to speak, but--

BAM!

An outstretched fist. Tense, hissing hair. The suffocating stillness of being so close, suddenly released. Madeline draws in a breath.

Devin stumbles back, hands clumsily groping over his eye socket.

"Don't. Get close. To Maddy." Badeline's eyes shine a brilliant crimson. "I won't warn you again."

"Oh. Ohhhhhh. Sweetheart, you've just made a mistake. I wasn't looking for trouble -- but now, you just might've forced my hand!"

Madeline screams. She is conscious of herself ducking- A whizzing in the air-

Nothing strikes her.

"Madeline!" Badeline yells. "Go! I'll catch up!"

Madeline sees it. Devin's arms shapeshifted into draconic clawed hands, with those vicious spines flexed into upright positions -- and those deadly, reaching claws, arm-wrestling with familiar tendrils of purple hair. Badeline floats up to Devin's height.

"Madeline!" Badeline snarls.

She needn't say another word. Madeline has dallied long enough. Madeline bolts, hooking her arm around Theo's. Madeline can see the gondola at the top of a tall, sweeping, forested slope.

"Are you sure?" Theo splutters.

"She'll teleport - as long as I escape -"

Suddenly Badeline is right next to her. "Madeline! He's-"

FWOOSH.

Clawed feet digging into the snow. A fanged jaw grimacing just before Madeline. Devin is hunched in her face. "My sweet-"

Madeline can feel her hands begin to tremble and her stance begin to falter-

-And just like that, she is swept off her feet. Not by fake boyfriend, not by ex-boyfriend, but--

"She's not yours!" Badeline hisses, holding Madeline's folded-up body in her arms. "I'm just myself!"

Madeline is speechless. Her heart skipping beats, her terror suddenly diluted by a warm shade of security, as Badeline lifts higher off the ground and flies uphill, swamping Theo in tendrils of her hair -

Madeline looks back to see Devin galloping after them on all fours.

Badeline cries, "Almost there!" 

Madeline thinks she sees Devin reeling back, the needles in his arms burning a brilliant emerald green. Something is coming.

Madeline's vision is snuffed by a cocoon of purple.

And then there is a whizzing of projectiles, and a cry of demonic agony, and the protection drops. Madeline drops onto the ground, Theo just beside her. She sees Badeline kneeling in front of them, arms outstretched, clothes laced with scratches.

No.

NO!

"We could have resolved this the easy way," Devin growls. He lumbers closer, his hulking frame blotting out the way downhill. "We could have split her. I'd have let you have the demon."

Madeline sees Theo move. He pushes himself off the ground, his stout face flooded with concern but maybe less fear than he should have. "They're not meant to be split up," he says, not fiercely at all, just saying something that makes sense, something that Madeline knows to be true.

Badeline's foot plants into the snow, and she at last pushes herself into a standing position. Her magic is dim, and her hair has drooped low.

Devin grins.

Madeline doesn't even see what happens. There just is a blur of green from above, and a scream unleashed from Theo, his hearty countenance broken at last.

Madeline screams.

Badeline says nothing. She doesn't even look back. But Madeline hears it- the wordless tremble in her voice. Badeline's arms held wider, even if all her powers in this moment are gone.

Madeline knows what Devin will do next. Madeline knows the one thing she can do. She gets up and shoves Badeline out of the way.

Madeline, limp and incapacitated, is still conscious of some things. The rush of shadows. The crackling of lightning. A war-screech, laced with a thousand layers of dark distortion - dark flooding vines that rush into every visible space - something defensive and aggressive all at once, something desperately compensating for a moment's lapse.

Is Devin there? Is Devin's presence in that at all?

And then, the world is still.

-

Badeline lay down her load.

One injured Madeline. One injured Theo. Both limp on the metal floor. Weird wounds, of emerald light - Badeline doesn't dare to look too closely yet.

The gondola rattles, as Badeline wrestles with the lever, but then it gives and she is on her way, slowly creeping higher towards her distant destination: out of here.

"Oh, Madeline," she laments, "Madeline, you fool. I could have taken that. Why? What compelled you?"

Stillness.

Badeline sighs. She looks out at the sky - at the emptiness, at the drifting snowflakes, at the lack of Devin - and has seen all she needs to see. She lay flat on her back, lets out one more deep breath, and is meditating with not even her thoughts for company.


	7. In the Dead of Night, You Went Dark On Me

Badeline slowly becomes aware again of her own quiet sobs echoing up around her.  
She kneels on the floor of the Mirror Temple. A fractured reflection faces her. A suffocating coldness has settled over her. She has Madeline and Theo close to her, slumped against each other. Fallen features. Bodies limp as identical broken playthings. Yet there is a pale breathing that, though Badeline dares not to call this hope, provides one last anchor for her to focus herself upon.  
There still is Devin's scourge upon their skin, revealed in the places their clothes are torn. Pulsing emerald light. The tight circles around Madeline's shoulder, and the heavy gouges in Theo's chest. It writhes and fluctuates, and sends Badeline's heart fluttering with terror, her own skin burning with pain, though she knows this to be Maddy's pain and not her own that she feels so deep. She knows that she is unscathed, and a more selfish, hurtful version of herself would feel grateful to have escaped Devin so, but that's not who she is anymore. She knows the truth that Maddy's pain already is her own, and were Madeline's life to be extinguished altogether, hers would go with it. In fact, Badeline is surprised to even still be conscious.  
Badeline finds herself clenching and unclenching her hands. Her spine arcs as she stoops over her friends. How is she supposed to protect them? How is she to bring them back from this?  
_I need to call someone. Alex. I need to call Alex, she reassured me, and-- and she'll do it again--_  
No. There is no reception in the Mirror Temple. There never has been.  
Badeline glances up and away. What is she to do? She had felt her confidence building when she was actually fighting Devin. A successful punch, her heart soaring -- a near save, and her mind being overwhelmed by Madeline's wonder and relief. But that's faded now. She failed.  
_My powers are changing, Madeline said. …If only they'd change to something useful._  
And like that, Badeline feels her strength waning. Her sobs stifle themselves. She lay face-down between Madeline and Theo, an arm over each of their collarbones. She feels her hair rustle and part, extending to cover the both of them. She wants to hide them from the world. She wants to protect them from anything that could possibly happen, if only it isn't too late.

Badeline tenses to hear footsteps. She sits up and scooches in front of herself and her crush. Clenched fists, a menacing snarl, and wild hair -- her heart is in it, but her stance is trembling. She gasps for breath. How could Devin have found her? This is a secluded room she had to wall-jump up to--  
That steady pace. The tap of a cane. It isn't Devin.  
Badeline blinks. The tightness is released from her body. "Granny?" Badeline asks, her own disbelieving voice sounding detached from her body.  
The tapping stops. "Little goth? I thought I sensed you here! What are you doing, up in that crevasse? Come down and I'll talk to you."  
Badeline has usually felt nervous around Granny, but now her body is flooded with warmth just to hear her voice. Badeline grabs Madeline and Theo and takes a soft leap to where Granny is. Badeline has never seen Granny in the Mirror Temple before, but she's not terribly surprised -- it's not like she and Madeline have been through the Temple themselves more than a couple of times. Badeline has not usually spoken alone with Granny -- Granny has always read her well, sometimes a little too well for Badeline's liking. It turns her from someone brash and bold into a shrinking violet who tries to keep in Madeline's shadow.  
That given, Badeline loves Granny. Dearly. Deeply. The bond is innate and the gratitude is immense. Granny, without even knowing Badeline, was able to tell Madeline that she was simply afraid, and to go speak to her. And Badeline, her delirious power trip finally wearing off, and Madeline's hug-tackles finally wearing her down until she couldn't run anymore, finally opened up.   
Badeline wonders how Granny knew. She and Madeline have often wondered if Granny went through something similar to their experience. Granny might make Badeline nervous, but she's also never hurt her or seen her as a menace. She's nicknamed her, and teased her, and even tousled her hair, much to Badeline's appreciative disdain. Badeline's spiteful attitude had faded very quickly to one of nervous, unstable gratitude. She loved loved loved Granny, just not fearlessly enough to be around her without Maddy.  
Badeline hears a change in Granny's voice. "Oh, dear. You children have gotten hurt…"  
"Please!" Badeline pleads. "Granny, please help us -- I don't know how to help them! I… I failed… I failed to protect Madeline… I'm not good for anything!"  
With that, the entire room pulses. Badeline thinks it's just herself, but she glimpses Granny covering her forehead.   
Badeline gasps. "Sorry…"  
"Child, child. You are hurt too… You cannot stay like this. It is distressing you."  
"I know that. But I don't know what to do." Badeline's voice is a whimper and she feels incredibly small. "Please… help her… do you have any first-aid kit? Do you know what this even is?"  
"These are magical wounds," Granny says, "No first-aid kit of mine will be able to help you."  
Badeline gags. She thinks of things unpleasant. The skeleton in the old ruins. The memorial to those who have died on the Mountain. "Then what can?"  
Granny's wrinkled old face bears a tightened frown. "You seem more resilient than one to let the Mountain take you so easily. It's pulled no punches on you, for certain -- but I think you already know what to do."  
"…What."  
"Magic wounds, and a magic girl."  
"And-- wait, Granny. What about you? How magical are you?"  
"My dear, I have not had magic for many, many years now."  
Badeline's heart falters. But deep down, a light flickers on, though it's not relevant just now - it's just answered a suspicion that she always had.  
"Granny, I don't know what to do." Badeline's bangs creep over her face. "I really don't… my powers are changing, but I don't know how! The strongest things I've ever done have only hurt her--"  
"Is that really so? I would not say harm done is comparable to the power of helping someone you love accomplish something you both want."  
"What are you saying?"  
"You have done great things just by accepting yourself."  
"Yes, but-- that won't heal her--"  
"Hasn't it healed you?"  
Badeline quickly looks back up at Granny.  
Granny still stands over her. Cane clasped in both hands. Symmetrical. Balanced. Whole. Like Badeline wants to be, but can't when she's separated from Madeline.  
_What DID heal me?_  
Badeline thinks back. It still hurt after they came home from Celeste Mountain. She still sulked. She still… well, she still wanted to hurt Maddy. It scared her.  
_Madeline still loved me._  
Madeline didn't fight her off anymore. Madeline made their time to themselves count. She talked to her, even though it was hard and confusing to even try-  
Badeline had begun to feel her movements falling in line with Madeline's. Their goals aligning. Madeline accepting her protection. Madeline letting Badeline cut off things that were poisoning them. Avoiding certain co-workers, unsubscribing from drama, quitting soda (mostly)… skipping the rock climbing gym when their hands were sore, calling in sick when she was definitely sick, refusing to connect with Devin when he was trying to reach her… Badeline's idea, all of them, and all met with increasingly less resistance.  
Badeline sits back, quiet awe overwhelming her senses. She rests her head in her hand. This is too much. What _was_ that? What happened to them that Badeline so quickly lost her need to terrorize Madeline from the inside out?  
Badeline softly cups Madeline's face in her palms. "Hey, you big doof," Badeline says.  
And then she pulls Maddy into her arms, not like when she was carrying her, but something more gentle, and not urgent at all.  
"I really don't mind you," Badeline says, looking down at Madeline in the darkness. "Not with your dorky interests and overbearing cheerfulness and insistence on… certain… things. I don't mind you at all. It's just who we are."  
Nothing's happening. But Badeline doesn't panic. She just sighs and tightens her hold on Maddy, and stays there for several seconds, feeling the rhythm of her heartbeat, feeling Granny watch over them, feeling the silence of the Temple.  
Seconds more of silence, and then Badeline grunts under a sudden pain. Gashes in her shoulders, wounds mirroring those of her protected, a blackout-inducing agony borne for a single unbearable moment--  
Badeline gasps for air. It's over. The pain has passed.  
Madeline is stirring. Badeline watches, breathless. Madeline slowly opens her eyes, with a bleary expression of unfamiliarity.  
And then, "Baddy?"  
Badeline blinks. "Yah?"  
"…I told you you're a tsundere."  
Badeline blushes. Her entire body freezes up, but her face is burning. "You… you bring that up _now_?"  
Madeline starts laughing, hiding her face. "I'm sorry! I had to -- you were really sensitive and caring right now, and I've never heard it from you like _that_, and… and it meant a lot to me! I never thought to ask, do _you _accept _me_?"  
"Well, of course I do," Badeline utters, her gaze wavering on Madeline's small, hunched body. She's tired and terrified and _out of it_, laughing when she is only just brought back from the brink of death… speaking of which, her wounds are gone, leaving only the rips in her clothing. They should consider mending them before they carry on.  
Badeline exclaims, "I healed you!"  
Madeline stretches her arms with a warm sigh. But she falters. "What about Theo?"  
Badeline moves over to him. She healed Madeline by accepting her as part of her. But what can she do about Theo?  
His wound festers with green light. Badeline's stomach lurches. But before she can do anything more, before she can think more, she throws herself upon him, sobbing into his chest.

Magic? Magic. It feels like it used to, for her to use magic. Except instead of sweeping and destructive, it's… soft and gentle?  
She thinks about Theo. EVERYTHING about Theo. The aesthetic. The long deep conversation. The feather. The big, cuddly hug that, for whatever reason, was light and careful just with her.  
She doesn't feel any of Theo's pain crossing over to her. But through her scrunched-shut eyes, she senses the light begin to dim.  
The quietest of mumbles. Badeline peers earnestly at Theo's face.  
Theo says, "Maddy? Where are we-- ow!"  
Badeline pulls back. There's still a deep gouge in Theo's chest. But there's no magic left in it.  
"Theo?" Badeline says. She feels Madeline looking over her shoulder.  
"Granny, get the first aid kit," Madeline whispers.  
Theo squints. "You… oh, Badeline. I couldn't tell you two apart! You look so identical, in the light of the-- ow, what's up with my chest? That Devin guy-- nggh!"  
Theo's hand twitches over his chest. Badeline leans farther over him. "Theo!"  
"Stay calm," Madeline says. "Just… just try and stay still?"  
"Agh… Badeline… can you…"  
"Yes?"  
"…hold my hand?"  
Badeline blushes. She's about to question _is he for real?_ But one look at Theo's exhausted, disconnected face tells her he means it. So before he passes out again, and while Granny is going to get more supplies, Badeline takes his hand in both of her own, and stays there in a solemn kneeling position, concentrating her warmth into his weak grip as Madeline slumps against her side.

And then, that's it.   
Theo is sitting up. He's wearily rubbing his forehead. "Maddy?"  
Badeline responds. "Yah?"  
"What just… happened?"  
Badeline blinks. "I healed you," she says. "I have healing powers! I'm a healer now!"  
"And a total Devin-totaling machine," Madeline remarks.  
"Yeah- well- I guess I did that-"  
"Did what?" Theo asks.  
"Oh," Madeline says. "You really DON'T remember, do you?"

As they catch Theo up on what happened, they progress through the Mirror Temple. The place is not so formidable, with so warm a company. Badeline understands that Devin will catch up to them eventually, as obsessed is he is - what she did to him was only a setback. But with Granny watching over them, it feels like nothing could go so wrong again.  
Badeline was able to heal them. BOTH of them. That means something to her.  
Theo is changing. His manner evolves. He becomes warmer, more open than he had been on this trip so far - he talks more freely with Madeline about what she's going through, and he's trying to figure out how he can help. Badeline lets the two of them do the talking. She's surprised, though, to hear him. How had she not noticed until just now that Theo had been so reserved before - at least, since they've had this trip? Or has it been the past few weeks? Badeline thinks hard about their video chats. It's been hard to tell. Theo was under a lot of stress, getting up to Canada again, she's known - so it could just be the pressure of preparing for this trip.  
As Madeline laughs about something, leaning against Theo's arm, genuinely carefree, Badeline thinks she notices something, caught in a facet of a mirror. She hurries up to match their stride, just as Madeline walks by another mirror -   
Crimson hair streaked with black. Eyes less bright. A glint 'neath her lip - could it be?  
Sure enough, it is a single fang, jutting from her mouth.


	8. Why Don't You Just Meet Me In the Middle?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Marge-krumps into the room* I'M NOT DEAD, HAPPY SUMMIT SATURDAY EVERYONE!!!  
I'm gonna need everyone to try and hear the Madeline and Theo theme, but with Badeline's synth layered over it. I wish a version of the track like that existed, but it sadly doesn't.   
Also, everyone check out this wonderful cover! VGM #130: Madeline & Theo (Celeste) Chill Synth-Folk Cover

Badeline pulls a limping Madeline and Theo out into the fresh whirling snow, before their calm campsite where relics of a campfire lay, and the area is unblemished by Devin's gouging claws. There is a deep black hole nearby -- created by Badeline pulling Maddy down to rock-bottom, their first time here. But she and Theo ignore it now. They all know what it is, and now, it's just another part of the Mountain's history.

Madeline collapses into the snow and gives a weary thumbs-up, though her bangs cover her face. Theo sighs gratefully, sits with his arms crossed atop his knee, and gazes upwards at Badeline.

"Thanks," he says, with such sincerity that Badeline can only snort and glance away, her heart warming up too much for her to handle. When Madeline shows her this gratitude, it's her proper dues -- when Theo does it, it's unwarranted and flustering. Badeline truly wishes Madeline was coherent enough to handle this situation. But it seems Devin still has her addled.

"Hey," Badeline huffs, standing over Madeline's limp form. "You owe me an explanation."

Madeline giggles. "'Bout what exactly?"

"UGH." Badeline tightens her fists. She gives a quick glance back to Theo. "This is what happens. I don't know what separation anxiety would be like, but maybe this is work."

"I can throw a rock at myself!"

"I'd catch it before you could even try. I want answers. Why would you get in Devin's way to save me?"

Madeline pushes herself onto one arm. "Isn't it obvious?" she asks. "I love you."

Badeline shakes her head. "But you can't just do that! I can take a hit -- you'll take permanent damage!"

"Not permanent," Madeline says, pouting. "If you could heal me."

"You're lucky that worked," Badeline says. "Just don't do that again. I protect us. You're the figurehead. Okay?"

"Hey," Theo says. "Isn't a figurehead at the… front… of the ship?"

Badeline drags a hand down her face. Theo being Theo. He's right, as usual.

They're sitting across from each other -- Madeline and Badeline on one side, together, of course. Theo shrugs off his backpack and pulls himself into a more comfortable position.

"Why can't we just fuse and beat Devin once and for all?" Badeline wonders, distraught.

"Hey," Madeline says, catching her around the wrist. "I… I won't do that again, okay? I don't want you to worry."

"It's not about me worrying. It's about you being safe."

Madeline cracks a scant smile. "I know. Believe me, I know. That's what matters to you most."

Madeline is right, of course. As she constantly is. But in a better way, now, at least. They're not really fighting.

It's fine now. Badeline knows enough to take Maddy's word for it. So she sits down, huddles up, and lets herself rest against Madeline's side.

"You think we should talk about what else is going on?" Madeline says, trying to move away from the idiot she felt like, for throwing herself in the way of an attack meant for Badeline (one that she would have taken far better than Maddy).

Theo sips at a mug of chocolate. He got that going on the fire (after he got the fire going) surprisingly quickly. "You two are merging. But without fusing. Or you're switching? It's weird."

"It is not weird!" Badeline huffs. "Well… okay. So it's weird for us."

Theo winks. "You two are full of surprises."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you're a wonderful person, just like my sister."

Madeline lowers her head, staring down into her chocolate. Of course. Of course he's treating them like his sister. Is this a hint? A hint to discouragement? Could he know, and not want as Madeline does?

Stay strong. There's a bigger thing to worry about right now.

Devin. How long will the Temple delay Devin? How much time do they have here -- should they be hiding?

Granny had mentioned something to them briefly. One such as Devin could be confounded by the Mirror Temple, though to Madeline it is now a straight shot of clarity and quiet. Madeline does not understand how Granny knows this, but it makes certain sense. She's accepted it.

"I don't know if it's good for me to become like Badeline," Madeline says. "I mean, in the total physical sense. What if it throws us off balance?"

"She's becoming more like you, though. Maybe you're just… fluid?"

Badeline shrugs. "Maybe you'll get my powers?"

"I haven't gotten anything out of this," Madeline says, pouting. "You keep developing cool new stuff--"

"But she's you," Theo says. "Those are your powers."

"…Okay. You're right. I should be able to do those things!"

"Maddy, don't hurt yourself," Badeline says, as Madeline gets up.

"I'm not going to-- hey, how do you do this? Levitate?"

"Okay. Good. You're not trying to jump off the Mountain. Um. Just imagine there's somewhere you need to be. Somewhere really high up."

Madeline takes a deep breath. The campfire's heat is blinding, whilst the dark beyond is a blanket of comfort. Granny's cottage, Madeline's room, the childhood tent she camped in, Badeline's hair.

Madeline looks up at the sky dusted by stars. Longing rises in her heart. She thinks of that dark place beyond, and she thinks of how cool Badeline does this thing she does sometimes, where she just squats, raises her head, and--

Madeline jumps, one leg raised, one arm outstretched.

And she finds herself there, twenty feet off the ground, her hair rippling behind her as she eclipses the moon. She hovers amongst the stars for a single perfect moment where gravity does not exist. And slowly, she drifts back to ground, her hair settling into a natural fall, and her eyes fluttering open to notice an astonished Badeline and impressed Theo.

"Wow," Theo says, softly.

Madeline smiles, settling snugly back against Badeline, gently rapping her knuckles over her head in a gentler version of Badeline's familiar noogie. "Well?"

"Okay," Badeline says apologetically. "Please never let me stop you from one of your ideas again."

"But I need you! I don't need you to be meek all the time. You're right. I shouldn't have acted as a shield against Devin. You're right!"

"You… just didn't want me to get hit the same…"

"But you're right! You'd have taken it better. Forgive me?"

"I forgive you," Badeline says, and then it's truly over.

"And then," Theo says, well on into the night, "we're midway through the pirated version of the movie, and more of the ads pop up. And I'm really freaking out, because I didn't know that the hackerpunk antihero was that good. And he turns to me, and says -- 'see, it gets different every time you watch it'--"

Madeline nods, already knowing where the story is going--

"And I say, dude. Your computer has a virus."

Badeline snorts. Of course.

"And he's like, how do you know? And I say-- LET'S TRY WATCHING SOMETHING ELSE!"

Madeline nods. She wants to know what else.

"So he pulls up some children's show. Well, not a children's show, but a show that looks like it's for kids but is actually terrifyingly violent. Anyways, we're watching this show, and -- and I'm like, hey, I know this isn't actually a kids' show, but-- I'm pretty sure the original doesn't have a commercial for THAT in it!"

Badeline is snickering. "I want to know!"

"And I don't want to know!"

"I'll spare you the details. And he's like -- okay. Last try. One more show-- And he pulls up Avatar, and the last BEAT of the intro music, his laptop DIES."

Badeline is cackling. Madeline smiles. This evening has been a good development.

"Madeline," Theo says, passing Madeline another heated-up can of soup. "How you feeling now?"

He's been asking them that a lot. Madeline nods gradually. She's feeling good, she's convinced herself. This is just like that time he kept checking in on me when I was sad. I really appreciated it.

Still, Madeline finds herself clenching and unclenching her hands. Something isn't right. Something is changing.

She glances over to Badeline. Slumped over, tired, almost snoring softly. Madeline feels even closer to her than ever. She thinks about Devin trying to tear them apart, and how none of it worked -- it only made her chase herself more, and hold her more tightly close, and spend more time with her just like this. It even made her sacrifice herself for Badeline's sake, even if Badeline is right about that having been a bad idea.

I did something that she would have done.

Badeline has been part of her. Always. And since she's not trying to fight that anymore…

Madeline thinks about it. A strong anxiety hovers over her -- that of Devin, and what he would seek to do to Badeline, and that overwhelming fear of how he could hurt them and tear them apart, and how Madeline selflessly wants none of that hurt inflicted on Badeline or Theo.

Madeline stares down at her soup. Something's changing. And what's changing is starting to make sense.

Strangely, thinking about it and being able to understand it makes Madeline's tension fade. Her shoulders slacken, and she finds herself content that Badeline is there, and Theo is across from her, sharing in this, and reminding her that she is not alone.

"Hey, Madeline."

There it is again. That voice full of warmth and fondness. Madeline glances up to Theo.

Badeline huddles up tighter against Maddy. At moments like these, Maddy knows she's there, but it's like she's not. Always watching, but from the backseat. Is she even looking, or is she falling asleep.

"Madeline, I-- I've been meaning to ask you."

No. Oh no. That can't-- that's like asking someone, can I ask you a question? Madeline feels instant terror--

"Do… you have a crush on me?"

Madeline gasps. Her soup falls to the snow. She loses all awareness of where she is -- she can't handle this now, they need more time, they haven't been able to talk about this enough, they haven't agreed on a course of action, THEY'RE NOT READY --

Madeline's breath fogs in front of her face. She's right back to anxious and stiff and worried and distant.

"…If you don't, that's cool. We're still friends, okay, Maddy?"

'Madeline.'

Okay. There's an out. Of course Theo would give them an out: that's why he's so wonderful. Always considerate of feelings, never dismissing them -- and he wouldn't let his correct guess ruin something as wonderful as their friendship -- thank goodness Madeline will always have that, at least --

'Maddy.'

"Please, uh, don't take offence to this. I'm not going to assume you're playing hard to get or anything, uh, incel-y if you say no…"

'MADELINE, DID YOU NOT HEAR IT.'

'…Hear what?'

'Hope.'

Madeline gazes up at him.

Theo has a stray noodle in his beard. He's blinking, and glancing away, and shrinking back, and going warm in the face. Madeline lets out a soft gasp. "Theo…"

"I didn't come up here to see the Summit. Well, so it would be wonderful, but… I really came back here just to spend time with you."

Oh my gosh.

OH my GOSH!

"Theo," Madeline squeaks. And then: "Theo, I've loved you for ages!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah, these past few months, at least! I-- does this mean we can date now?"

"Of course it does! We can date, and I'll come up to Canada more often, and it'll be great! You could come stay with me and Alex sometime, too -- you can be part of our family!"

Madeline gets up.

And, carefully circling around the campfire -- she runs to him.

Something cuts her off.

Sweeping claws, like blades of emerald.

"MADELINE!" Badeline cries.

Madeline turns from a shocked Theo's gaze, to that of her assailant.

Sleeves shredded by growths of pine needles. Mouth hanging open and riddled with fangs. Vorpal claws, beaming eyes, and a mane that glows like the aurora borealis --

'Holy heck,' Badeline notes. 'He's a werewolf.'

He always has been. Beast in human guise. It's no surprise that the Mountain would bring this out of him.

"No more of this," Devin snarls.

Madeline screams as he grabs her by the hair.

And just like that, he's made off with her, down that pit that plummets directly to the deep, deep caverns of Celeste.


	9. Polaroid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy SUMMIT FINALE, everyone!!

"I'm concerned for you, but not the way you think I should be," Madeline says.

Devin is pacing around her. But all Madeline can think about is the way it settles in his chest like a tumor. That pulsing green light, and those surrounding growths of iridescent, poisonous pine needles --

Devin's jaw has fallen open, and he pants and snarls and smiles, as saliva drips from curling fangs. Madeline hugs her arms. The caverns are dark now, and she knows not why. She sees very little but Devin's dark light and a few reflective crystal panes beyond.

Oh soft grass beneath my feet, grant me strength. Oh running waters… oh blooming plants… oh retro platformer feel, of deep within Celeste Mountain, please, grant me back that Part of Me!

Badeline is on her way. Madeline is already sure of it. She wouldn't run anywhere else, for Badeline is not scared for herself but for Maddy. And Theo -- well, Madeline hopes Theo stays safe. There's not much he could do here.

All I have to do is wait.

"Maddy," Devin whimpers. "Maddy, why? Why would you ever leave me, and force me to come track you down?"

Madeline takes a deep breath. There's nothing she can say to him. He's never listened to her. Not once.

"I come back to find you and you love somebody else. I try to come help you and you make friends with a demon."

Madeline doesn't know how she feels about that word now. There's really bigger concerns on their mind right now.

"How long can I keep you away from her? What do I have to do to pull her out of you forever?"

"I don't want that," Madeline says, backing away from Devin. Whatever keeps him talking.

"Why? Why ever not? I know you are not strong enough to subjugate her."

Madeline is again reminded of that horrible reality, her reality, where she tried that over and over and over again. To outrun, defeat, or control: none of it worked. But she's never thought, not since then at least, that it was because she was not strong enough.

Badeline is the stronger side of me.

There is a twitch in Madeline's wrist and a pulse in her muscle. She glances down.

Dark purple veins, glowing like shadows, run down her arm. She quickly changes stance and hopes Devin notices not.

"Do I need to teach you a lesson?" Devin snarls. "Need I remind you that your heart is always mine?"

Madeline is silent, fearful, quickly shaking her head--

Devin pounces.

Madeline cries out, raising her arms to shield herself.

And shielded she is.

Devin paces backwards, reduced to all fours, as he whimpers in confusion. His mane runs spiky and wild, his tail lashes out threateningly still, and his hind legs bend like a wolf's do. He may be glowing brighter, but Madeline realizes also that the caverns far beyond are coming into focus, and the dark does not seem to rob so much definition from her surroundings any longer.

Devin howls. Needles fly towards Madeline. She dodges left and right, and those that still threaten to glance her are caught by the whipping locks of Madeline's own hair.

Devin strikes the ground, sending a quake. Madeline sees it coming, hops into the air, and hovers there. The tremor hits boulders behind her, and reduces rock to rubble, but Madeline finds herself floating downwards unharmed.

"Why?" Devin growls. "How?"

Madeline thinks she knows. She thinks it's making sense now.

But sense as it makes, she cannot summon the light, the fire, the laser. She cannot bring rise to the earth and make it her projectile. Her heartrate quickens as she desperately tries to bring it forth. But she does not know how she did it, nor even how it feels -- it seems something she has talked with herself remarkedly little about.

I am still incomplete.

Devin's light flashes and wanes but does not become any less menacing. Madeline does not know what she is to do here.

Buy some time

Wait for her

Become  complete

But she is not here. Madeline finds herself running, and floating, and zipping away from attack after attack. Is she already part of her again? Where is she?

Madeline cannot fly as well as she can. She invariably falls. And as Devin continues after her, untiring, Madeline finds her strength to be fading.

She does not hear a noise aloud. Rather, she hears a squeak that she knows to be telepathic alone.

Madeline whirls around. There she is, cowering in the slightest alcove. Madeline feels a familiar twinge of sympathy and regret.

"You're scared," Madeline says.

'Yes. Yes I'm scared. I've been scared this entire time. For you, but also--'

Badeline doesn't finish.

'You always were more hurt by him,' Madeline notes. 'You've been trying to protect me, but it's been so hard when… when you had good reason to be terrified for yourself.'

Devin lets out an earth-rumbling growl. "What are you doing with her?"

Madeline only grants Devin a quick glance over her shoulder before turning back to Badeline.

"Please," Madeline says, standing over her and spreading her arms out wide. "Let me protect you."

Badeline opens one trembling eyelid.

And, slowly, she gets up to stand behind Madeline.

When Madeline places her arms around her shoulders, the reaction is instant.

Her body is dissolving. The world becomes new. She is terrified (terrifying?). She is powerful, and afraid, and ready to survive.

Who is she now? She knows her name is Madeline, always. Her arms are lowered, but her head is cocked; her hair whips and floats and forms thorny vines that are not purple but pitch-black. The entire world pulsates in red and violet. All is clear. Except who is she? What really happened?

There is no time to think on it. Madeline strikes him as he attacks. And again, and again -- though Devin strikes with claw, and must now throw his vitals close just to attack Madeline, Madeline moves fearlessly and from afar, her hair flooding this cavern.

There is darkness in her soul and darkness drowning out that venomous light.

At times he overpowers her. And it hurts. And being like this hurts, too -- to have to defend herself so fiercely and not give in. To have to fight and be angry and let loose so much rage.

Do I hate him?

She does not know that she does. Only that she can never, ever be with him. Never again.

With wounds on her body and an ache in her mind and desperation in every part of her, she feels strength moving in. She puts her arms in a familiar position, as Devin rushes forward one last time.

And in Madeline's hands forms a weapon. Shaft already bent, string already pulled back, gargantuan arrow fixated upon Devin's fierce lupine form.

And just like that, he is defeated.

Devin is separated from it.

Madeline takes a cautious step forward. It is lying on the ground, broken, feeble -- but not dead, or even, dying. The cavern is again light; the creature has no glow of its own anymore.

"Madeline," Badeline says, warningly, as she clings to Madeline's side.

Madeline stares at the pale green wolf pup. It is starting to get up.

"Madeline, it's coming after us," Badeline says.

Madeline steps towards it. "I want to talk to it. …Him."

"What?! Are you crazy? I--"

Badeline pauses.

"I trust you," Badeline says.

Madeline nods at her. "I'm not doing it alone. I'm not leaving you."

Madeline takes her hand, and Badeline glances down and away but gently squeezes back.

"You need to not follow me," Madeline says. "I… You can't come with me."

Devin is lying face-flat, unconscious, while his demon (no, Madeline can't see it that way -- she refuses to categorize him as Devin categorized Badeline) looks softly up at Maddy.

"I don't know what to tell you," Madeline says. "I don't know what you should do. I'm sorry."

'Don't apologize. I mean, not again. Please. You don't need to.'

Okay. Madeline takes a deep breath.

"You can't come with me," Madeline says, "but I don't know if you can leave him for good. Even after how much he hurt you. There's just nothing I can do… I can't tell you what to do next. Leaving him might not be possible. I… I wish I could help you, but I know I can't have any part of you in my life anymore."

It lets out the feeblest of dog-whines.

Madeline sighs, turning away. "I hope he doesn't hurt you like that again. …Goodbye, Devin."

And Madeline walks away from him, with Badeline trailing after her, holding her hand as they so usually do -- and they see Theo gawking, his polaroid camera cradled in his hands.

He puts it away, and hugs both of them, and gives Madeline a kiss on the cheek -- and they depart.


	10. Epilogue

Madeline stares at herself in Granny's bathroom mirror. She still has some of Badeline's traits, but they are fading -- but some other weird stuff is happening.

All afternoon, she's been speaking words and hearing them come out of both her mouth and Badeline's mouth simultaneously. Granny had laughed -- "It seems you two really can't stay apart now!"

"Wait, no," Madeline had said, as she found herself suddenly plastered to Badeline's side -- and then the two of them fused without either of them meaning to.

Granny chuckled. "I reckon she'll come back sometime to mess with you. But she's never really  gone now, is she?"

That's true. Madeline flicks through Theo's polaroids of the battle. Madeline's frightening form, and her bow and arrow of darkness -- being herself has never felt so desperate and damaged before.

"You were in a bind," Theo has remarked. "Survival mode. Let's hope you never have to go through that sort of pressure again."

Madeline thinks that true.

Being whole feels nice. Now that she's not defending herself from Devin, she's taken on the appearance of "Ultra-Madeline" again, as opposed to what Theo has dubbed Dark Ultra-Madeline. She still cannot believe herself in these photographs of his. She can't believe that he photographed the battle!

"What can I say?" Theo had grinned. "I admire my girlfriend."

So Madeline had fused over Badeline -- opposite of their usual arrangement. She didn't know they could do that. But the Mountain is full of surprises, isn't it? Surprises like Theo reciprocating her feelings the entire time.

Madeline likes their relationship. Soft. Gentle. No pressure, no expectations. They already know each other so well -- Madeline trusts him with her heart and soul. He knows exactly what to joke about and exactly what to be sensitive over. And Madeline already feels so much loyalty and devotion. She knows she's safe (and Badeline's safe) with him.

But soon enough, it is time to say goodbye. Theo's going home. They didn't make it to the Summit together -- not this time -- but that's not what matters.

They'd had a little argument. It turns out that Devin must have found Madeline because of Theo's InstaPix posts -- but it turns out he'll be more careful about that from now on. Madeline is surprised how easy that was -- resolving a dispute, with somebody who actually cares about you.

Theo's gone now. Madeline dropped him off at the bus station. And Madeline has seen no more of Devin, but she feels confident that she won't.

I'm safe now, she remarks, viewing her reflection in the darkness of her laptop screen.

And when she's booted up, the first thing she does is change her background: to the selfie of their first shared kiss. Maybe a long-distance relationship won't be so scary after all.


End file.
